On November 22, 2024, Universal Pictures’ Wicked (or Wicked: Part I) was officially released in theaters. Although the live-action version of Stephen Schwartz’s musical of the same name was expected to be a successful release for the studio, it exceeded all expectations and is now among the season’s biggest hits.
While some have questioned the film’s duration, others have praised its production values, actors, graphics, Chu’s directing, and adherence to the original.
Wicked: Part II, which is slated for release on November 21, 2025, will conclude the story started in the first movie, but since there is still some time before the sequel is released, we can explore the whole story behind Wicked in more detail.
Although the movie itself was based on the musical of the same name, the musical was, in turn, based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. The original novel is, in fact, so dark that you won’t believe that it is actually the same story!
Despite the fact that Wicked was a major title that could have caused a lot of controversy, the controversy that ended up surrounding the movie was minimal and it was more funny (like the wrong link) than really serious.
But, this doesn’t mean that everything is just puppies and unicorns when Wicked is concerned, as the original story that inspired the musical and, in turn, the movie is very dark and very controversial.
As said, the origin of this whole story is Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was the first in a series of novels that re-examines Baum’s world of Oz from a darker and adult-oriented perspective. You can understand that the movie is toned down in a major way here, but you won’t actually believe just how dark the original novel was.
Namely, Wicked is not a children’s story, but rather a complex study of the roots of evil and how society influences people and their lives. Elphaba’s story is a very dark one, which includes her being born as a sort of feral child, a green-skinned and savage monstrosity that no one really wanted.
This sense of not belonging is something that will follow her throughout her life and will be a cause of many major moments in the story.
The story is full of dark twists, sexual encounters, and even rape, culminating in depicting the Wizard as a slave-driving statistical psychopath, as well as Elphaba’s daughter. The Wizard is vindictive and doesn’t shy away from killing a whole family save for the young daughter of that same family, whom he keeps as a slave (you can imagine the implications).
There is also a story about an illicit affair between Elphaba and Prince Fiyero, which results in the two of them having an illegitimate child, which is also a very complex and controversial topic. Of course, we won’t be spoiling everything for you, but as you can see, it is more than obvious even from this that the novel is definitely full of dark topics and takes on well-known issues.
Despite everything, this twisted biography of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, the novel was released to very positive reviews and while it will never become a children’s classic, it is definitely an interesting and obviously influential alternative take on the well-known world, created by L. Frank Baum and that is actually why we wanted to share this whole story with you!
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