Wicked (2024 film)

[Jerroddragon]

Unless we get like 5 new songs....I don't see how this will work.

While I do like many songs in act 2.....Act one is much stronger at least song wise

 

[rageofthegods]

The first half of WICKED is a solid, singular 90 minute movie with a good arc for all of its characters, so I can see the logic in this.

The second half is where this all falls apart. There's maybe two iconic songs in it. What are they gonna do to expand it?

 

[Jerroddragon]

The first half of WICKED is a solid, singular 90 minute movie with a good arc for all of its characters, so I can see the logic in this.

The second half is where this all falls apart. There's maybe two iconic songs in it. What are they gonna do to expand it?

Here are 3 reprises, lol

But agreed, I loved Wicked but first have is just more solid

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Maybe that's why they're splitting it up? Allow each Act to essentially in it's own tone and style, be it's own film.

Not much is needed for Act 1, but I wonder if this is a case to where Chu actively wants to "better" the second act with this.

 

[rageofthegods]

Maybe that's why they're splitting it up? Allow each Act to essentially in it's own tone and style, be it's own film.

Not much is needed for Act 1, but I wonder if this is a case to where Chu actively wants to "better" the second act with this.

I don't think the own tone-and-style approach is what Universal is going for, considering it's the same creative team for both. I think it's a lot of things, chief among them money and the fact that the show is a bit of a mess story-wise. I don't really see a path for Wicked Act II turning into a full feature film without significant bloat and/or heavy restructuring.

What'll help Universal is that, much like IT Chapter 1, the first half has all the iconic set pieces and a much more well-defined story, so the good will from a theoretically well-executed first part will feed into the hype for a second part that's more challenging to turn into a good movie and probably won't have the same word of mouth.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I feel like people are gonna have the same arc with this as they did with Evan Hansen, when they realize that what seems to be an innocuous musical about empowerment also contains political torture and the enslavement of an entire sentient species.

 

[rageofthegods]

I feel like people are gonna have the same arc with this as they did with Evan Hansen, when they realize that what seems to be an innocuous musical also contains political torture and the enslavement of an entire sentient species.

I mean, the difference is that there's no cognitive dissonance here. The people doing the political torture and enslavement are the bad guys, not the plucky heroes.

Now, something like 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, on the other hand...

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

I mean, the difference is that there's no cognitive dissonance here. The people doing the political torture and enslavement are the bad guys, not the plucky heroes.

Now, something like 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, on the other hand...

I'm not talking about the cognitive dissonance in the play itself, but the cognitive dissonance between public expectations and the actual story, especially if you're only interaction with the musical is with Defying Gravity.

 

[Tobias]

Splitting Wicked into two films is a choice, not one I really see going well since Act II is gonna' need so much stretching/filler to be a whole film on its own. And when their previous movie musicals have been Cats and Dear Evan Hansen, it feels like they're making an unnecessary gamble.

Now if they really wanted to make a bigger film, Josh Spiegel has an idea which I think should come back in situations like this...



Seriously, with the way a lot of movie theaters are now with reserved seating, people have zero worry of losing their seats, there can be more money gained through concessions, and musicals are absolutely no stranger to intermissions. And that format can give a film like Wicked enough time to for Act II to still be in the same film without bloating it to kingdom come.

 

[shiekra38]

Splitting Wicked into two films is a choice, not one I really see going well since Act II is gonna' need so much stretching/filler to be a whole film on its own. And when their previous movie musicals have been Cats and Dear Evan Hansen, it feels like they're making an unnecessary gamble.

Now if they really wanted to make a bigger film, Josh Spiegel has an idea which I think should come back in situations like this...



Seriously, with the way a lot of movie theaters are now with reserved seating, people have zero worry of losing their seats, there can be more money gained through concessions, and musicals are absolutely no stranger to intermissions. And that format can give a film like Wicked enough time to for Act II to still be in the same film without bloating it to kingdom come.

Not to derail things, but going to the movies used to be an event. Theaters had bold flashing lights that beckoned you inward to their art deco halls and featured an intermission that oddly kept tension high for the rest of the film. I would love to see at least intermissions make a return and theaters get back to respecting cinema and not just act as a revolving door for "Tentpole Franchise: Part 23"

Ironically Wicked would be a great experiment to try something like this

 

[quinnmac000]

The first half will be whismical and fun while the second half will be dark and political...

I wouldn't compare Wicked though to Cats or Dear Evan Hansen...Wicked is something Universal owns almost all the rights too. Messing it up will hurt multiple lines of revenue compared to DEH and Cats.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

This is for 3 reasons:

1. Money.
2. New songs.
3. They want to end a film on Defying Gravity.

 

[GA-MBIT]

I expect an IT situation where the first movie is a solid if slightly muddled adaptation, and the second one is a dull mess that will waste an hour of my time on filler.

 

[quinnmac000]

]

This is for 3 reasons:

1. Money.
2. New songs.
3. They want to end a film on Defying Gravity.

Wicked the musical works as a musical because no one cares about the plot....just want to remind you of one scene of the musical

For example, in ONE scene of Wicked's second act, we (A) establish that Boq is now employed by Nessa, (B) establish that Boq isn't happy with this situation, (C) see the inciting incident of Elphaba's arrival, (D) learn that Nessa and Elphaba's dad is dead, and Nessa is the new governor of Munchkinland, (E) learn that Nessa resents her sister for not helping her, (F) see Elphaba attempt to fix Nessa's legs, (G) have Boq return to the scene and declare that Nessa has been taking away Munchkins' rights, (H) have Nessa, in a fit of rage, use a spell on Boq, (H) have Boq die, (I) have Elphaba cast a spell to bring Boq back to life before fleeing, and then (J) realise the "twist" that Boq is now the Tin Man.

And that's all in ONE scene, lasting no more than a few minutes. There's absolutely no farfanooging way that such an interaction could feel even remotely natural if it played out on a screen (Hell, it barely even felt natural on stage). Splitting the musical into two will allow time for two, three or even four scenes to cover the same events.

That's not gonna work in a movie at all.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

]

Wicked the musical works as a musical because no one cares about the plot....just want to remind you of one scene of the musical

For example, in ONE scene of Wicked's second act, we (A) establish that Boq is now employed by Nessa, (B) establish that Boq isn't happy with this situation, (C) see the inciting incident of Elphaba's arrival, (D) learn that Nessa and Elphaba's dad is dead, and Nessa is the new governor of Munchkinland, (E) learn that Nessa resents her sister for not helping her, (F) see Elphaba attempt to fix Nessa's legs, (G) have Boq return to the scene and declare that Nessa has been taking away Munchkins' rights, (H) have Nessa, in a fit of rage, use a spell on Boq, (H) have Boq die, (I) have Elphaba cast a spell to bring Boq back to life before fleeing, and then (J) realise the "twist" that Boq is now the Tin Man.

And that's all in ONE scene, lasting no more than a few minutes. There's absolutely no farfanooging way that such an interaction could feel even remotely natural if it played out on a screen (Hell, it barely even felt natural on stage). Splitting the musical into two will allow time for two, three or even four scenes to cover the same events.

That's not gonna work in a movie at all.

I’m not saying it’ll work, stating what I think is the reasoning.

Theoretically done super well, ending a part 1 film on Defying Gravity sounds great.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Messing it up will hurt multiple lines of revenue compared to DEH and Cats.

 

[Jerroddragon]

I expect an IT situation where the first movie is a solid if slightly muddled adaptation, and the second one is a dull mess that will waste an hour of my time on filler.

God, that will be what happens. I have yet to see any fans online be happy about this...everyone see's it as a cash grab because unlike even Hunger Games (which I will defend needed to be two films or you miss out on a lot) their isn't any other material we know about and it will definitely slow down the film and it feels like Universal just wants to ruin this film...like you have a solid should fun movie that could get lots of attention and now its going to be one good movie and a second movie that will either flop or just not make enough money to need to exist

 

[Nick]

WICKED will be finally hitting theaters in December of 2024. The big thing, is that WICKED..is going to be split into two parts.

lol, if we learning anything at all from the 2021 musical releases, it's that no matter how hard people tried, the movies almost all did really poorly at the box office accept Encanto (and even that wasn't all that good).

They better hope that people besides musical theater geeks decide to go see musicals again or else Part one might not even do all that great. I don't think this will be as bad as other Universal Pictures Musicals like Cats, Dear Even Hanson, Mamma Mia movies, etc, but will it even be as good as Les Miserables? :shrug:

I have faith in Jon M. Cho based on In The heights, but again, musicals are a niche audience and if you can't reach beyond the niche, you aren't going to have the success you want, but especially if word of mouth isn't good like with DEH and Cats.

 

[rageofthegods]

lol, if we learning anything at all from the 2021 musical releases, it's that no matter how hard people tried, the movies almost all did really poorly at the box office accept Encanto (and even that wasn't all that good).

They better hope that people besides musical theater geeks decide to go see musicals again or else Part one might not even do all that great. I don't think this will be as bad as other Universal Pictures Musicals like Cats, Dear Even Hanson, Mamma Mia movies, etc, but will it even be as good as Les Miserables? :shrug:

I have faith in Jon M. Cho based on In The heights, but again, musicals are a niche audience and if you can't reach beyond the niche, you aren't going to have the success you want, but especially if word of mouth isn't good like with DEH and Cats.

I dont think anybody should be using 2021 box office as a benchmark for anything, especially genres like musicals that are geared towards older adults. The market is still in recovery mode but 2018 showed there's a large audience for movie musicals, especially family-oriented ones like this.

I dont think this is a particularly good decision creatively but until I see footage that's egregiously bad (as in the case of CATS and DEH) I don't think this will have trouble making its money back.

 

[Nick]

I dont think anybody should be using 2021 box office as a benchmark for anything, especially genres like musicals that are geared towards older adults. The market is still in recovery mode but 2018 showed there's a large audience for movie musicals, especially family-oriented ones like this.

I dont think this is a particularly good decision creatively but until I see footage that's egregiously bad (as in the case of CATS and DEH) I don't think this will have trouble making its money back.

I just think this is like a Dune problem for people like me. I still haven't seen Dune (and I have HBO Max) simply because it's really only half of the movie.

I'll watch Wicked as long as i'm not hearing bad things about it like Cats or DEH, but I'll wait until I can watch them back to back in one sitting.