Studio Boss Sets The Record Straight On Third Wicked Movie Speculation
Wicked: For Good might not be the last audiences see of Oz.
Since the musical sequel’s release last year, there have been talks of another skip down the yellow brick road, with those behind the scenes aiming to expand the universe with more world-building films.
Donna Langley – the chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment, the production company behind the musical films – has hinted that after the critical and box office success of the first two Wicked films, there may be more left to explore of the world.
“It’s very early days on Wicked but we are hopeful that after the amazing success that we’ve seen with the two movies, there are other ways that we could branch out with the world-building,” she told Variety.
Langley added that she and her fellow executives at Universal are discussing future franchise plans with their “rights holders and in conjunction with them”, to ensure they only include the characters and stories they already own the rights to within the world of Oz.
When Wicked was released in 2024, it became a box-office smash and a global sensation, grossing nearly £600 million and earning 10 Academy Award nominations.
The sequel, Wicked: For Good, followed a year later, and although it was met with mixed reviews from critics and snubbed at the Oscars, the film still grossed £390 million, so it was only a matter of time before the producers would want to capitalise on the film’s success.
Langley isn’t the only person hinting at expanding the world of Wicked.
The original Wicked stage musical’s composer, Stephen Schwartz, and his long time collaborator, Winnie Holzman have long been teasing a new project set in the same universe.
“It’s under wraps and we can’t say too much,” the three-time Oscar winner who worked on the musical and big-screen adaptations told YouTuber Ryan Jay in November 2024.
As part of a more recent interview with The Ankler, the musician hinted at what future projects could be about.
“Winnie Holzman and I are doing some work right now on ideas that aren’t a sequel to Wicked – because I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete – but there are other aspects that could be explored,” he explained.
“But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way.”
The Wicked musical, on which the films are based, is adapted from the novels by Gregory Maguire.
While the events of his novel differ from those of the stage play, the sequels have the potential to be adapted by the studio. Maguire’s second book takes place a decade after the events of Wicked and focuses on Elphaba and Fiyero’s son.
The Wicked book series also includes two further sequels, A Lion Among Men and Out Of Oz, as well as two prequels focusing on Elphaba and Glinda’s childhood in Oz.