Following yesterday's teaser, the hope that the first Wicked For Good trailer would be released this morning. Instead, a new poster has just landed that takes us back to Oz and reunites Elphaba and Glinda.
Where's the trailer? Well, it won't debut online until tonight because fans attending the one-night-only Wicked screenings will be treated to the sneak peek before anyone else.
It's doubtful that Universal Pictures will want to see bootlegs flood social media, so it may drop mid-afternoon PT time, shortly after the musical returns to theaters. Making it a theater-exclusive, even if it's for a short time, is a smart move on the studio's part as these screenings will add to Wicked's already impressive $755 million worldwide haul.
As we first reported on SFFGazette.com, Vanity Fair published an interview with filmmaker Jon M. Chu earlier today, and he revealed more about how Wicked For Good differs from its predecessor. "I can’t believe we’re here. That’s crazy to me," he started. "What’s nice about movie two is it’s so different from movie one that it doesn’t feel like we’re talking about what you just saw. It’s the new chapter."
"I think we always had the bar very high for us," Chu continued. "Thank God, because the alternative universe was not a fun one to be living in. I’m glad I’m in this multiverse."
Elphaba and Glinda went from enemies to friends in Wicked, but now find themselves fighting on opposite sides. Addressing that, Chu said, "Our heart was broken when Glinda can’t make the choice that we want her to so badly at the end of movie one, and it feels empowering for Elphaba to fly away from society. In movie two, we get to see the consequences of those choices. The temperature is up."
"Casting-wise, we had to have people who could handle both sides of Galinda, both sides of Elphaba," he said of lead stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. "You can do the fun Shiz version of these characters, but can you go to the next level? Can you land the plane? This plane is big, and the world is big."
Check out Wicked For Good's new poster below, and stay tuned later today for the trailer.
Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony-winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
They're joined by Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University's regal headmistress Madame Morrible; Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, a roguish and carefree prince; Tony nominee Ethan Slater as Boq, an altruistic Munchkin student; Marissa Bode in her feature-film debut as Nessarose, Elphaba's favoured sister; and pop culture icon Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu, Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. The sequel, which has been retitled Wicked: For Good after originally being billed as Wicked: Part Two, arrives in theaters on November 21.