Wicked Movie Release Date Moves up a Week

We’ll all be defying gravity a little bit earlier. On Monday, it was announced that Wicked will be released exclusively in theaters on November 22nd. This new release date is one week earlier than initially planned, as the film was originally scheduled to open on November 27th against Disney’s Moana 2. Now, Wicked will be released on the same day as Gladiator II, on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.

The Wicked movie will adapt the events of Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West across a two-film saga. A live-action adaptation of Wicked has been in development for the better part of two decades, with the film version ultimately being directed by Crazy Rich Asians‘ Jon M. Chu. The Wicked musical, which first debuted on Broadway in 2003, has become a beloved part of musical theater, ultimately grossing over $1 billion in total Broadway revenue in 2016. The original production of Wicked featured Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, both of whom had been among the wishlist fans have had for the movie adaptation.

What Is Wicked About?

Wicked is a prequel to the iconic events of The Wizard of Oz, and tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba’s public fall from grace. The cast will include Ariana Grande as Galinda, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Pfannee and ShenShen, Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Aaron Teoh as Avaric and Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik.

“This was a wildly large production with so many brilliant human beings who worked so, so hard in every department,” Grande wrote on social media when production on the film wrapped. “Every single person that worked on these films was not only the absolute best at what they do but made every single day for over a year feel so incredibly safe … kind and thoughtful and inspired every day as if it were always the first… How something so much bigger than all of us could feel so intimate and small and warm is beyond me but it starts from the top. You made it so [Jon M. Chu]. I have so many stories that I can’t wait to share but for now, my heart sincerely, physically aches that I will not be sharing ever yday with this crew anymore. Thank you for your brilliance and the many hand \holds and hugs along the way.”

As mentioned above, Wicked will now be released exclusively in theaters on November 22nd.