Universal Pictures’ version of Wicked is currently being filmed ahead of the beloved Broadway musical coming to big screens in the form of two movies starring Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a.k.a The Wicked Witch of the West. The latest from the production is good news: the former release date for Wicked: Part Two has been changed to an earlier engagement!
After Wicked: Part One was previously moved up on the 2024 movie schedule from Christmas Day to November 27, Wicked: Part Two is following the same path on the yellow brick road. The 2025 Wicked sequel will officially hit theaters on November 26, 2025 rather than Christmas Day of the same year. That’s a whole month sooner than before. Check out the Instagram announcement:
So, both Wicked movies are now going to be Thanksgiving holiday movies, and it’s a great move on Universal’s part. When Part One moved up its release date in March, it found a way to avoid Avatar 3 competition, but since then, the sequel was delayed one year to December 2025, next to Part Two’s date. Perhaps now both Wicked movies can dominate the November holiday weekend two years in a row. Plus, considering many musical films have the tendency to grow legs throughout their theatrical runs, this shift could set them both up to continue their success well into December’s holiday season.
Next to Wicked: Part Two now hitting theaters on November 26, 2025 is an “Untitled Disney Animation” movie slated for the same date. We don’t know what title will directly compete with the musical movie now, but it’s possible it could be one of the in-development sequels like Frozen 3 and Zootopia. Much of the 2025 release calendar has yet to be set in stone for the time being, but Wicked: Part Two carving this place for itself as an event film could very well set it up for major box office success.
The Wicked movies are being helmed by Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights director Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by the writers of the musical book, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. Along with Grande and Erivo taking up the lead roles, the Wicked movies cast list is packed with talent, including recent Best Actress winner Michelle Yeoh, Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, SNL’s Bowen Yang, The Greatest Showman’s Keala Settle and Jeff Goldblum.
As production continues in England, Cynthia Erivo recently opened up about getting emotional filming the sequence for “I’m Not That Girl” and getting excited for audiences to take in the messages of Wicked. The pair of musical films will, of course, bring the famous numbers like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” to life, along with Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel to the big screen. Wicked fans, mark our calendars for your 2024 and 2025 Thanksgivings for these exciting movies!
