Fans counting down the days until the viewing Wicked at home you might want to buy a movie ticket.
Wicked: Part Onestarring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, hits theaters Nov. 22 — and Universal Pictures is tight-lipped about when the musical fantasy film will be available on the streaming service.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked it was a labor of love for the cast and crew. The film is an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name, originally based on the 1995 novel. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.
“Everybody involved is a theater geek,” Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyer, told PEOPLE in December 2023. “It’s going to blow people’s heads. So get ready.”
Here’s everything you need to know about when Wicked will be available for streaming.
When Wicked premiere in cinemas?
Jonathan Bailey in “Wicked”.
Universal Pictures
Wicked: Part One premieres in theaters on November 22 — and viewers will be in for a treat with a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Rated PG by the Motion Picture Association, the film is considered fun (and appropriate) for the whole family.
Early on, Chu made the decision to split the film into two parts. Wicked: Part Two it is scheduled for release on November 21, 2025.
“It became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to fight the story Wicked into one movie without doing it any real harm,” he wrote in a message to fans posted on X (formerly Twitter) in 2022.
Chu continued, “As we tried to shorten songs or shorten characters, those decisions started to feel like fatal compromises with the source material that had entertained us all for so many years. So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas.”
When will Wicked be available for streaming?
Marissa Bode and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked.”
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
Stream date for Wicked: Part One has yet to be released, but fans can expect to see it as an option sometime in 2025. As a Universal Pictures release, the film will likely land on NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock.
Historically, Universal films have moved from the big screen to the streaming platform in a time frame of 45 to 120 days. In 2024 Twisters landed on the Peacock four months after its theatrical release while Fall Guy and Kung Fu Panda 4 were available for streaming after about three months.
If Wicked follows the same pattern, it will also likely be available to rent or buy via video-on-demand (VOD) platforms (including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, YouTube and Fandango at home) before it arrives on Peacock.
However, there is no guarantee that Universal and Peacock will stick to this timeline. In the meantime, fans can watch the streamer’s exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary, Wicked: On set with Jon Chuawhich chronicled the making of the film.
What is Wicked: Part One about?
Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked”.
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
1st part of Wicked introduces audiences to Glinda (Grande) and Elphaba (Erivo), who meet as students at Shiz University in the Land of Oz. Elphaba is misunderstood because of her green skin, while Glinda is popular among her peers.
They are paired as roommates and form an unlikely friendship, but after meeting the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), Glinda and Elphaba take two completely different paths.
“Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and Wicked Witch of the West,” according to the film’s official synopsis.
While speaking with PEOPLE in July 2024, Chu said the film is a much deeper interpretation of the Broadway musical.
“Because of the camera, because it’s not a stage show, we get closer,” he said. “We become more intimate. We move the camera two inches from their faces and that brings a great power to the show that you can’t have on stage.”
What an honor Wicked said about the movie?
Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey and Bronwyn James at the “Wicked” 2024 premiere.
Amy Sussman/Getty
Ahead of the film’s release, Grande told PEOPLE she’s a part Wicked he “changed her forever”.
She joked that the experience was both emotional and a bit painful – due to Glinda’s many hair flips. “I was, still am, stiff,” Grande joked.
During the interview with The New York Times, Erivo said it was “very difficult” to let go of her character after filming ended.
“I still love her fiercely… Characters like this don’t come around very often, they just don’t,” she explained. “The lore of Oz was very closed to girls who looked like me, and now I’m the Wicked Witch of the West. I think the doors are very open now, which is wonderful.”
As for Marissa Bode, she made history as the first wheelchair user to portray Elphaba’s sister Nessarose. Bode, who has been in a wheelchair since she was 11, said Today that she used her role to advocate for her community.
“How I feel as a person with a disability in a world that’s not necessarily made for me, in a world where people just don’t understand or aren’t always fully educated about disability as a whole — I’ve definitely brought them with me and relied on that in my character. “, she said.
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Source: HIS Education