More adventures in Oz always seemed likely after the success of the first Wicked movie, and likelihood turned into inevitability after Wicked: For Good's massive opening weekend at the box office.
After taking in $14.7M domestically on Monday, Jon M. Chu's sequel is now approaching $230 million worldwide, and Universal Pictures has confirmed that we will return to the magical land of Oz at some point.
Michael Moses, the studio’s chief marketing officer, told Vulture that plans for more movies (and possibly streaming shows?) are “underway.”
“Because of Wicked’s success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe,” he said. “Have we figured it out yet? No. But there are things underway.”
Stephen Schwartz, who wrote and composed all of the songs for the musical, recently told Ankler that he already has an idea for a new project.
“I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete — but there are other aspects that could be explored,” Schwartz said. “Gregory Maguire, the original Wicked novelist, has several books, for example. But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way.”
For Good concluded the Broadway Musical's story, but, as Schwartz points out, there is plenty of other media out there that can be mined in order to continue this franchise. Whether Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will reprise their respective roles obviously remains to be seen.
Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.
Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity.
Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.