Musical Theatre

Stephen Schwartz reveals that two new songs written exclusively for the upcoming Wicked films, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, will be in the second movie, set for a Nov. 26, 2025, release.

However, he adds, "There are some expansions of stuff in the first movie. The point being, the new songs were written because of the demand of the story, not, 'Oh, let's write a new song and stick it in just because…' The storytelling required it, and therefore they were created — the intention was that they were organic and not imposed on the movie."

Them movie adaptation of Wicked will be split into two parts, directed by Jon Chu, with the first half of the film debuting Nov. 27, 2024.

"It's been very important to us to make sure that it is the show, that it is the story that the fans love and that they're coming to expect and not disappoint them," Schwartz tells The Messenger.

"And at the same time, [it was also important to] be able to expand the story to make use of what the language of film and the technology of film allows you to do," he continues. "As we talked about the story we wanted to tell, it was impossible really to get into one movie unless the movie were four hours long. And so the decision was made to make two movies. And consequently, there's new stuff that I think the fans will enjoy. But our hope and intention is that the people to whom the story and the show are important will not in any way be disappointed, but will be thrilled by what they will see and the new stuff that's been added and the way film is used."