How Realistic Is A Wicked 3?

Following the instant box-office success of Wicked: For Good, will the story of Oz become its own cinematic universe? And more importantly, will there be a Wicked 3?

When we look at the story of Wicked and Wicked: For Good, there really is more than just a musical at play behind its adaptation. When it comes down to it, the Wicked films are based on a musical, based on a book, which is based on a film, based on a book!

Going back to 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by L. Frank Baum is to thank for all these Oz based works and creations. For over a century, this story of Oz has been continuously transformed and adapted most famously on stage and on our cinema screens – which makes us question if Wicked: For Good was really the end?

 

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With the current press tour and premier run of the film’s second instalment, the cast of Wicked: For Good have had few words to say regarding a third Wicked film.

Director Jon M. Chu was quick to address this possibility, “You know, there’s a lot of ideas flying around right now… We’ll see. Let’s enjoy this ride first.”

When asked about the likelihood of Wicked 3, Bowen Yang, who plays Pfannee candidly responded saying, “I think we leave it here.”

As for the two leads, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have had little to say regarding the topic and have since taken to Instagram to share a heart-felt farewell to each of their characters. In accordance with their actors’ response, it well may be that this chapter of Elphaba and Glinda has come to a close for good.

 

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The main orchestrator behind these rumours and possibilities of Wicked 3 is none other than Wicked music and lyrics writer Stephen Schwartz.

“What I will tell you without giving away too much is that Winnie Holzman (the original Wicked book writer and film’s co-screenwriter) and I are doing some work right now on ideas that aren’t a sequel to Wicked… but there are other aspects that could be explored,” he said.

“Gregory Maguire, the original Wicked novelist, has several books, for example. But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing – not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way… If someone could think of a continuation of the story that seemed to have a justification beyond simply making money, of course.”

Now that we know there truly is more to come, it’s really just a matter of what. While we can’t jump too far ahead in saying that this will set an Oz cinematic universe in motion, it certainly looks promising.

In terms of source material, there are plenty of pre-existing stories that could be adapted to the big screen.

A safe bet of course, is always a character origin story, and in this case there are many possibilities. What initially comes to mind is an origin story based on the Wizard himself, which has previously been adapted in the 2013 film Oz The Great And Powerful, but could be reimagined in conformity with the new Wicked films. While Fiyero, played by Jonathan Bailey has a big part to play in both films, perhaps there is more to be explored in his origin story?

Referring back to the existing source material, Wicked itself is loosely based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It’s important to note that this novel isn’t a standalone feature and is in fact the first instalment of The Wicked Years novel series.

@phebs_sellwoodxx This book was a shock to the system to say the least 👀 #wicked #wickedthemovie #elphaba #glinda #witch #halloween #movie #newmovie #book #booktok #bookreview #musical #musicaltheatre #musicaltheatretiktok #popular #wickedgame #wickedwitch #arianagrande ♬ original sound – Wicked Movie – Wicked: For Good

The second instalment Son of a Witch follows Liir, the son of Elphaba and Fiyero while the following novel A Lion Among Men is told through the eyes of the Cowardly Lion. Then the final mainline instalment – Out of Oz – takes place years after the events of the Wicked story as we know it.

With this extensive book series, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to the future of Wicked adaptations. Could the adaptation of these stories be the next steps towards an Oz cinematic universe? Or would brand new original stories be more promising?

While of course sequels, prequels and remakes have become a tired category in cinema, Wicked itself has stemmed from pre-existing art, so is this idea of expanding the Oz universe really too far-fetched?

Let’s hope not.

Words by Leah Foran