“Wicked” came out on November 22, 2024.
“Wicked” is about 2 hours and 40 minutes long, being slightly longer than the original musical. The movie stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The movie is split into two parts, the second part being “Wicked For Good.” In “Wicked,” there are 11 songs including one bonus track by the Wicked orchestra.
The themes within “Wicked” are part of what makes the movie so good. It explores themes of friendship, identity, and the subjective nature of “good” versus ”evil.” These are seen through the unlikely bond between Elphaba and Glinda. The movie heavily features themes of systemic oppression, propaganda and marginalization. “Wicked” analyzes how leaders can create scapegoats to maintain power and how history is written by those in control.
The casting in “Wicked” has been a point of debate since the movie was released. Some castings like Cynthia Erivo’s as Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s as Glinda were talked about as many people just wanted a different actor. Jonathan Bailey playing Fiyero was more controversial as many thought a POC should have played him to better align with his description in the book. Ariana’s casting was also overshadowed by her relationship with co-star Ethan Slater. A lot of the casting was just not what the fans expected.
“Wicked” deserves a 9/10 rating for its deep and intricate themes and its controversial casting.
