‘Wicked 2’ Moves Up 2025 Release Date, Will No Longer Open Against ‘Zootopia 2’
“Wicked 2” has changed its release date, bumping up five days to open Nov. 21, 2025.
The sequel was previously slated for Nov. 26, 2025, which would have put it up against Disney’s “Zootopia 2.”
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In July, the first “Wicked” underwent a very similar schedule change, moving from Nov. 27 to Nov. 22 (after an initially planned Christmas opening). That shift put the movie musical ahead of Disney’s “Moana 2,” but “Wicked” now shares a release date with “Gladiator II.”
Universal’s two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star in the film as Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good), who form an unlikely friendship that is torn apart by external forces. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University headmaster Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq and Bowen Yang as Pfannee.
The movies are directed by Jon M. Chu, who helmed big studio pics including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights.” Teasing a standout moment of the film with Variety, Chu said, “‘Defying Gravity’ is a gift. To hear [Erivo] sing that. She’s singing that on wires, in the air while doing flips and spins. First of all, it’s difficult to see that on the ground, let alone in the air. But she has a masterful command over her air delivery, how she can breathe and execute those notes for that long.”
A prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” is adapted from the long-running Broadway show that features classics like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.” Originally titled “Wicked: Part One,” the first installment was renamed to just “Wicked,” with any indication that the story is broken up into two parts removed from the marketing materials.
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