There’s no denying that Wicked: Part One and Wicked: For Good have both defied cinematic gravity, leaving fans to wonder: could a third film be on the horizon? Part One made over $758 million at the global box office and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, taking home one for Best Costume Design and another for Best Production Design. For Good, meanwhile, has already surpassed a record set by its predecessor and made over $226 million in its opening weekend–– the biggest ever for a Broadway musical adaptation.
And then there are the stars of Wicked, music sensations Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who are now Oscar nominees for their turns as Elphaba and Glinda. Their singular vocal abilities, acting chops, and press tour antics have cemented them as globally adored starlets, the effect of which has led to not only high ticket sales but also a wild amount of Wicked merchandise. You’d be hard-pressed to find a Cats popcorn bucket featuring James Corden and Judi Dench, but bursts of pink and green can be found everywhere from Dunkin’ Donuts and Pottery Barn to Lexus, Amazon, Google, Lego, and Target, to name a few.
In an age when audiences are more likely to watch city-leveling critters than a movie musical, Wicked’s impact on both culture and cinema can only mean one thing: Universal Pictures would be silly not to explore sequels, spinoffs, and an entire franchise, right?
‘Wicked’ Sequels Are Already in the Works at Universal Pictures
Wicked: For Good’s record-breaking opening weekend has already led Universal Pictures to begin ideating future Ozian projects. Vulture reports that a Wicked franchise is of great interest to the studio, with CMO Michael Moses confirming that the ideation wheels are already in motion. “Because of ‘Wicked’s’ success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe,” he told the publication. “Have we figured it out yet? No. But there are things underway.”
It’s unclear if Moses is referring to a direct sequel or some kind of adjacent spinoff, but this likely comes as good news to Wicked fans, who have already proven that they’d be ready for more Elphaba and Glinda fare at the drop of a pointy hat. For Good did leave viewers with all kinds of questions (and at least one answer) as well as plenty of surviving characters. The door is thus wide open for Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero, Boq, the Cowardly Lion, and even Pfannee and Shenshen to make future reappearances.
Prior to Universal’s confirmation of an impending Wicked Cinematic Universe (which we can just go ahead and call the WCU, if you’d like), Wicked screenwriter Dana Fox told Deadline that she would be very open to penning a future sequel:
“I would be honored if anyone asked me to be a part of Wicked 3. And I think that they are such beloved characters that seeing what they were up to, I mean, to me, the moment when Elphaba says in voiceover, “I know she can never know that we’re alive.” I was like, somebody feels like they’re asking to find out that they are alive at some point. That feels really like, “Hello.” That’s spicy to me. I love the idea that we could meet up with them again someday.”
On the flip side of that coin, Fox admitted that sometimes it’s best not to step on what’s “very, very good,” i.e., the two-part Wicked saga directed by Jon M. Chu. With Universal’s creative gears already turning, however, additional Oz-set stories are inevitable. Fox shared that her daughter “personally wants a prequel,” which is certainly on the table thanks to Wicked’s original source material. And speaking of…
Gregory Maguire Just Announced a New ‘Wicked’ Book
Good news, Glinda fans: Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (upon which the Wicked musical is based), just announced that a new prequel about Glinda’s childhood is being released in 2026. Galinda: A Charmed Childhood will live up to its name and explore what the future leader of Oz was up to long before she attended Shiz University and met her foe-turned-friend, Elphaba. This comes after Maguire’s other recent prequel, Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, was released earlier this year, giving fans a peek at Elphaba’s dark but relatable coming-of-age.
In addition to these prequels, Maguire has written other books in his series The Wicked Years, starting with 1995’s Wicked and culminating in 2005’s Son of a Witch, 2008’s A Lion Among Men, and 2011’s Out of Oz. Any of these could feasibly be adapted for the big screen, but the question then becomes: would audiences be as likely to turn out for films that don’t involve Elphaba and Glinda as heavily as Wicked does? It’s crucial to note that the Wicked musical is a loose adaptation of Maguire’s book, meaning future sequel adaptations could be as well, and since Grande and Erivo are an enormous part of why the Wicked films have flown to such great heights, sequels without them feel like non-starters at this point. That said, a key member of the creative team has already admitted that there might not be any of Elphaba and Glinda’s story left to tell.
‘Wicked’ Composer Stephen Schwartz Thinks Elphaba and Glinda’s Story is Done
In a recent interview with The Ankler, Wicked composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz revealed that Elphaba and Glinda’s story feels “complete” to him. “I’m just not sure that the right idea exists,” he said of a potential third installment featuring both Wicked protagonists. “What I will tell you without giving away too much is that 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.” Holzman wrote the book for the Wicked musical, is a co-screenwriter on both films, and even had an Emerald City cameo in Wicked: Part One, as did Schwartz.
As for the idea that he and Holzman are discussing, Schwartz said it’s “not a sequel, but an adjunct.” This feels like the best approach to the burgeoning WCU, as not only will storylines need to be adapted to include Grande and Erivo (as well as People’s Sexiest Man Alive, Jonathan Bailey), but also because Wicked is a standalone musical, meaning Schwartz would have to pen new music for future installments. This is not outside the realm of possibility– he already composed two new songs for Wicked: For Good– but given the rigorous nature of film production, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have as much time to write a whole new musical as he did when developing the original Broadway production.
Schwartz is an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe-winning composer, so there’s no doubt that he’s up to the task, but many viewers felt that his fresh additions to For Good’s soundtrack are the weakest of the bunch. If he, Holzman, and the rest of the creative team want to ensure that Wicked 3 (or an “adjunct” spinoff) is anywhere near as strong as its predecessors, then they’ll need to find a way to replicate the flash-in-the-pan that is Wicked, which remains the fourth-longest-running Broadway musical of all time.
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire
- Producers
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Marc Platt, David Stone