‘Wicked’ Sequels Being Figured Out at Universal Pictures: ‘Things Are Underway’ to See How ‘We Can Continue in This Universe’

IP-crazy Hollywood will never stop.

via: Comic Book

Wicked: For Good is officially cementing the Wicked movie adaptation as a major success. The sequel film opened to over $200 million at the worldwide box office (over $150 million of it domestically), and despite being hit with harsher critiques than its predecessor, For Good is leaving many viewers spellbound. Combined with the first film’s $759 million box office haul and ten Oscar nominations (with two wins), Universal now sees the Wicked franchise as lucrative and acclaimed IP, just waiting to be mined.

Michael Moses, Universal Pictures’ Chief Marketing Officer, has been doing some press following the theatrical premiere of Wicked: For Good – and he’s doing some not-so-subtle signaling that the studio is very much in the business of building a Wicked universe.

“Because of Wicked’s success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe,” Moses claimed. “Have we figured it out yet? No. But there are things underway.”

Wicked stage play musical writer and composer Stephen Schwartz has even teased having further involvement with the Wicked cinematic universe, stating in an interview that “I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete — but there are other aspects that could be explored. 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.”

It sounds like Schwartz and his original Wicked stage play co-writer, Winnie Holzman, have a good spinoff idea in mind. That kind of project would definitely excite the Wicked fanbase, as it would carry the biggest stamp of authenticity that any studio-backed project could. As Schwartz also pointed out, the Wicked stage play is based on the 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire. That novel is just the first volume in Maguire’s book series The Wicked Years, which is made up of nine books in total. So if Universal wants to just keep the series going in the standard sequel format, there’s plenty of source material to draw upon.

Funny enough, some of the criticisms of Wicked: For Good – specifically the connective threads to the original Wizard of Oz movie – have rekindled talk about some of Oz’s weirder (and wonderful) works, like the 1985 dark-fantasy sequel Return to Oz. That film has become iconic for traumatizing a generation with its freaky characters and bleak, surrealist nightmare tone: A project that revisits that project from a winking meta-minded perspective could also work.

Wicked Fans Aren’t Thrilled About A Franchise Universe

…Just don’t expect some fans to embrace this news. On social media, there is a trending thread of fans who are arguing that Universal should ignore the financial perks and let the two-part Wicked movie stand as a crowning achievement. Do studios typically do that? Not really.

“I think they captured lightning [in] a bottle and that milking it with more sequels actually isn’t the answer,” Roberto Blake said in a post. “I think they should take the lessons and apply them to complete original and fresh IP instead… but that’s just me. Not everything needs to be a cinematic universe.”

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Instead of trying to recapture lighting in a bottle, why don't Universal focus on developing L. Frank Baum's other books instead of trying to make sequels on characters in Wicked that quiet as it's kept a general audience wouldn't care about following?

Ariana and Cynthia won't be in the sequels, so it's time to move on. I know there is a book based on Elphaba's son that they could possibly explore, so we'll see what direction they plan to go in.