Wickeds reported runtime is a major green flag, signaling how the movie adaptation can take the core ingredients of the Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz and conjure up something even more magical. Given the mammoth success of the stage show, news of an upcoming Wicked A movie adaptation was hardly a surprise when reports surfaced in the early 2010s. Rather more surprisingly is the subsequent update that Wicked would be split into two separate parts, the first releasing in November 2024 and the continuation a year later.
According to a more recent update, Wicked part one‘s runtime clocks in at a relatively hefty two hours, 40 minutes – almost as long as the original musical Wicked is based on, which lasts a little five minutes more. That number is slightly north of 2012’s Les Miserables movie, and also beats Chicago (1 hour 53m), Cat (1h 50m), and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (2h 36m). considered Wicked part one Covering, as the name implies, only 50% of the story, that runtime is quite an achievement. from another perspective, WickedThe length speaks to just how the movie can elevate its source material.
Wicked’s long runtime means the movie will expand on the musical story
Get ready for things you haven’t seen on stage
The fact that one half of Wicked is reportedly more than most musical movies adapted in their entirety highlights one thing above all else: how much Wicked Will beautify the story of the musical. This in itself is not a big shock. Original composer Stephen Schwartz teased the potential for new songs for Wickeds movie as early as 2016, while producer Marc Platt explains how WickedThe two-film split was partly motivated by a desire to delve deeper into iconic locations such as Shi’s University and the Emerald City.
If Wicked part ones needle actually returns up to two hours and 40 minutes, which would indicate a huge amount of additional ideas and fleshed-out storylines.
throughout Wicked‘s long development journey, the mission has seemingly always been to adapt the musical with as few story cuts and omissions as possible. even so, One might have reasonably expected Wicked part one To run for two hours or lessWhich would afford more than enough space to adapt the musical completely and carry less risk of triggering muted boxes in the movie theater.
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If Wicked part oneThe needle does indeed turn up to two hours and 40 minutes, but that would indicate a huge amount of additional ideas and fleshed-out storylines – much more than the average musical-to-movie adaptation. If Wicked part two Then matches its predecessor for size, the combined big screen version of Wicked would even come close to doubling up on the Broadway show, giving a strong idea of ​​just how much fresh material to expect.
Bad can add more depth to the story and characters than the musical
Wicked’s World offers plenty of room for expansion
Despite in-seat numbness, WickedSurprisingly bumper runtime is actually a great sign for Jon M. Chu’s adaptation. As is typically the way with musicals, Wicked On stage, it flows fluidly from one number to the nextTransition between narrative chapters at pace and let Schwartz’s music and lyrics do the heavy lifting. Movies are inherently a more narrative and character-driven format, meaning Wicked is bound to add more depth to the many fascinating elements within.
The main beneficiary will be Wicked‘s movie cast, and particularly the relationship between Ariana Grande’s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. The two leads dance their way from enemies to best friends with astonishing speed in the musical version, essentially growing close over the course of a single song. This works perfectly for the stage, but such a quick friendship would lack honesty in a movie, which would be disingenuous and not push the viewer to fully invest in the all-important Glinda-Elphaba partnership. With more time – much more, it seems – The Wicked Movie can play the bond of Elphaba and Glinda more commonly.
Wickeds side characters will also benefit enormously. Nessa, Elphaba’s sister, is not used in the musical, but can shine more brightly throughout the space of an almost three-hour first half. Romance between Elphaba and Fireo almost comes out of nowhere in the musical, but can get more attention and flirty buildup in the movie. Then the various teachers of cheese – the likes of Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible and Peter Dinklage’s Doctor Dillamond – can evolve beyond the relatively small roles they play on Broadway, since Wickeds timeline offers the opportunity to delve into their backstories, their troubles and their importance to The Wizard of Oz.
Such a long bad movie is still a big risk
Two long movies would be a great statement of intent from Bad
The advantages of potentially stretching WickedThe story of more than five hours of film outweighs the disadvantages, but the disadvantages are there for sure. split Wicked In two movies there was already a risk in itself, because it asks the audience to wait a whole year for a conclusion they will probably already be very familiar with watching the stage show. In addition, no Surprise of seeing Wickeds world rendered in live-action will wear off after part oneSo without the pull of “What happens next?” Wicked is completely relying on viewers who love the first film to make them come back for part two.
That problem is exacerbated if both parts of Wicked are also very long. There is a very real risk viewers will sit through almost three hours of school-based musical magic and The Wizard of Oz Foreshadowing, hear the iconic “Defying Gravity,” and skip the sequel when it arrives a year later. For the more casual theatre-goer, two hours and 40 minutes of Wicked And a rendition of the musical’s biggest hit might be enough.
Turn Wicked In two long movies, at least, show supreme confidence in the project. Jon M. Chu and the various creative minds involved must feel so strongly about the strength of characterization and world-building in their movie adaptation, they have full faith that demand for more Wicked Will get a year-long hiatus, a split release, and even a chunky runtime.