It happened. After decades of "will-they-won't-they" development hell, the Ozian gates finally swung open. But as soon as the first trailers dropped, a specific question started trending harder than a flying monkey on a caffeine kick: is the Wicked movie two parts?
Yes. Honestly, it's not just a rumor or a marketing gimmick. It is a full-blown, two-film event.
If you walked into the theater expecting to see Elphaba and Glinda’s entire life story wrapped up in two and a half hours, you probably felt a massive surge of adrenaline right around the "Defying Gravity" sequence—only to realize the credits were about to roll. It’s a bold move. Some call it a cinematic masterpiece; others think it’s a blatant cash grab. But when you dig into the mechanics of Broadway-to-screen adaptations, the decision starts to make a weird kind of sense. Jon M. Chu, the director who previously gave us Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, didn't just flip a coin here. He argued that cutting the story down to fit a single film would actually "fatally compromise" the source material.
The Mid-Point Cliffhanger: Why the Split Actually Matters
So, why exactly is the Wicked movie two parts? To understand that, you have to look at the structure of the original 2003 Broadway musical.
The stage show is notoriously top-heavy. Act One is a behemoth. It establishes the entire friendship between the "blonde" and the "green," builds the political tension in Oz, introduces the love triangle with Fiyero, and culminates in the most famous showstopper in modern theater history. When Elphaba hits that high note and flies over the stage, the curtain drops for intermission.
Act Two is different. It’s faster, darker, and carries a lot of the heavy lifting regarding the Wizard of Oz tie-ins. By splitting the films, Chu and the writers (including Winnie Holzman, who wrote the original book for the musical) gave themselves the breathing room to explore things the stage play usually rushes through. We’re talking about more time at Shiz University. More time seeing the Animals—with a capital A—losing their right to speak.
Imagine trying to cram "Popular," "The Wizard and I," and the entire political downfall of the Munchkinland governor into ninety minutes. It would feel like a montage. By making it two parts, the first film gets to be a coming-of-age story. The second film, slated for late 2025, becomes a war movie.
The Stephen Schwartz Factor
Stephen Schwartz, the legendary composer behind the score, has been very vocal about this. He pointed out that "Defying Gravity" is such a massive emotional peak that anything following it in the same sitting feels like a comedown. In a movie theater, you don't have the luxury of a 15-minute lobby break to grab a drink and process what you just saw. If the movie kept going immediately into the darker territory of Act Two, the audience would be exhausted.
Schwartz and Chu realized that the "intermission" wasn't just a break; it was the natural end of a specific narrative arc.
What Actually Changes Between Part One and Part Two?
A lot. Like, a scary amount.
If you’ve only seen the first movie, you’ve seen the "honeymoon phase" of Oz. The colors are bright, the costumes are whimsical, and while there’s a creeping sense of dread regarding the Wizard’s intentions, it still feels like a fantasy adventure.
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Wicked: Part Two is a different beast entirely. It picks up years later. The relationship between Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has shifted from roommates to ideological enemies. We start seeing the direct connections to Dorothy’s arrival. You’ll see the origin of the Tin Man. You’ll see how the Scarecrow came to be. You’ll see why the Cowardly Lion is so, well, cowardly.
- Part One focus: Identity, friendship, and the discovery of corruption.
- Part Two focus: Resistance, the cost of "goodness," and the tragic reality behind the propaganda.
The scale expands significantly. While Part One stays mostly within the confines of Shiz and the Emerald City, Part Two has to deal with the wider geography of Oz. There’s a reason the budget for these films ballooned. You aren't just paying for more CGI; you're paying for two distinct tonal experiences.
Addressing the "Cash Grab" Accusations
Look, we have to be real here. Hollywood loves a sequel. They love a franchise. They especially love taking a single book or play and stretching it until the seams pop—think The Hobbit or Twilight: Breaking Dawn.
Critics were quick to jump on Universal Pictures for this. The skeptical view is that by asking is the Wicked movie two parts, you’re really asking why you have to pay for two tickets instead of one. It’s a fair critique. However, the runtime of the first film alone is over two hours. If they had combined them, you’d be sitting in a theater for nearly five hours. That’s not a movie; that’s an endurance test.
Even Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon fans might struggle with a five-hour musical. By separating them, the creators claim they didn't have to cut any songs. In fact, they added music. Schwartz wrote new material specifically for the screen to flesh out the backstories of characters like Dr. Dillamond and Madame Morrible.
The Visual Evolution of Oz
One thing that justifies the two-part split is the sheer visual detail. If you look at the production design by Nathan Crowley, it’s clear they weren't interested in just "filming a play." They built massive, physical sets. They planted real tulips. Thousands of them.
In Part One, the Emerald City is a marvel of Art Deco and steampunk influences. It’s meant to look like a utopia. But in the upcoming Part Two, we’re going to see the cracks in that facade. The lighting will change. The camera work will likely become more frantic as the "Witch Hunt" begins. This kind of visual storytelling needs time to land. You can’t rush the transition from the "One Short Day" aesthetic to the grim reality of a police state.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s Performance Arcs
The performances also benefit from the extra space. Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is a deeply internal character. She’s guarded. If the movie rushed through her first year at school, we wouldn't feel the weight of her betrayal when the Wizard finally reveals his true colors.
Similarly, Ariana Grande has to play a version of Glinda (or Galinda, with a 'ga') that is initially vapid and self-absorbed but eventually grows a conscience. That kind of character development is hard to pull off in a truncated script. Grande’s transition from a social climber to a complicated leader requires the audience to sit with her through the "funny" moments so the "sad" moments actually hurt.
Real-World Impact and Release Dates
Universal didn't just drop these movies at random. They’ve timed them to dominate the holiday seasons.
- Wicked (Part One): Released November 2024.
- Wicked: Part Two: Scheduled for November 21, 2025.
This year-long gap is intentional. It builds anticipation. It allows the soundtrack for the first film to permeate pop culture before the second set of songs—like "No Good Deed" and "For Good"—hit the public consciousness. It’s a strategy borrowed from the Harry Potter and Dune playbooks.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re still on the fence about whether the two-part structure works, your best bet is to revisit the original source material. No, I don't mean the Broadway cast recording. I mean Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
The book is much grittier and more political than the musical. Reading it will give you a much better sense of why there is so much "plot" to cover. It’s a dense, complex political allegory. While the movies lean more toward the musical's tone, they are clearly pulling some of that world-building back in.
Next, pay attention to the lyrics in the first film. A lot of people treat musicals as background noise, but Schwartz’s lyrics in the first half are littered with foreshadowing for what happens in Part Two. If you listen closely to "Something Bad," you're essentially hearing the entire plot of the second movie summarized in a few verses.
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Finally, keep an eye on the 2025 trailers. As the marketing shift begins for the second installment, you’ll likely see a much darker palette and a focus on the "Dorothy" of it all. Understanding that this is a "Part One" and "Part Two" situation isn't just about knowing when to leave the theater—it's about managing your expectations for a story that is much bigger than a single yellow brick road.
The transition from Shiz University to the heights of the Emerald City is only half the journey. The real tragedy, and the real magic, is yet to come. Stick with it. The split might feel annoying now, but in the long run, it’s probably the only way to do justice to a story that has captivated millions for twenty years.
Prepare for the 2025 release by watching the first film again specifically to look for the subtle hints regarding the Tin Man’s identity and the true nature of Fiyero’s "scarecrow" destiny. These breadcrumbs are scattered throughout the first part, waiting for the second part to pick them up.