With the rising buzz of the new two-part movie Wicked, lots of controversy has arisen after they released the first trailer during the 2024 Super Bowl. Between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, this new adaptation of the favored musical has been portrayed as “woke” by many viewers. Some of the most contentious topics have been the scenery, casting, and the drama with co-star Ethan Slater.
The Wicked musical has been a fan favorite since the original came out on Broadway in 2003. It was a backstory of the wicked witch, Elphaba, and the good witch, Glinda, from The Wizard of Oz. According to the New York Theater Guide, “The musical follows them from their girlhood friendship and explains how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch and Glinda became the Good Witch.”
However, with this being so beloved, many have become upset over controversial topics that have become apparent. People have said the movie looks dark like an MCU movie instead of how a musical should look. Others have complained that new songs shouldn’t be added and that this new adaptation is changing too much.
People have started calling the movie “woke” and “horrible” saying that the film, which hasn’t been released, is already a failure. Many think this because of casting issues with Erivo playing Elphaba, the green Wicked Witch of the West, and co-star Grande playing Glinda, the Good Witch. Many believe that, because in all the original musicals Elphaba was portrayed and played by a white female, the movie should stick to that description instead of changing the character. Alongside this, lots of people are upset with Grande playing Glinda because the character is supposed to come off as sweet and approachable when Grande makes it seem otherwise. With other issues like Slater and Grande’s romance troubles, people believe that Slater should not be one of the cast members. Slater and Grande have been sparking up much media attention with their supposed cheating scandal. Both met on the set of Wicked and are said to have developed a romance offscreen.
With all of this media outburst, it’s no surprise that the public is going crazy over the movie. Many have said they don’t understand why it was split into two parts. They expressed it should have just been one long movie, with a 15-minute break in between to get refreshments, use the restroom, and check phones. The movie estimates a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes of running time for the first part and roughly the same for the second part.
The trailer that was released looks like what the idea of the first part will generally be about. Overall, the movie looks like a good watch and doesn’t look all that bad, people are just stressed because they think it’ll be another downgrade like “Cats.” The first part doesn’t come out until Thanksgiving of 2024, and even with all of this negative attention, it is reckoned that many will still watch it.
