The first reactions to the Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of the Broadway musical on ‘Wicked’ has come in, and many of the initial reactions have made many of fans of Broadway production ecstatic about seeing the films interpretation of the Wicked witch of the west and her best friend Glinda.

The film stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, as Glinda and Elphaba respectively. The film is a prequel to The Wizard of oz, “telling the true story of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and her school days when she first befriended popular girl, Glinda. The musical follows their journey from mutually loathing roommates at Shiz University to unlikely friends to political enemies as the Wizard and his cronies vilify Elphaba and elevate Glinda. All the while, the two women fall for the same man, party boy Fiyero” (Entertainment Weekly).

The movie has seen praise from the early screening that universal pictures held, with Kristin Chenoweth, who portrayed Glinda, in the original ‘Wicked’, taking to X, to write, “Counting down the days until the world sees Cynthia and Ariana in Jon M. Chu’s film… you will all be changed for the good when you see it” (X).

Rotten Tomatoes stated that the film exceeds expectations, with many of the reviews remaining positive, “The world is not ready for how great Wicked is. Jon M. Chu, Cynthia Erivo, and Ariana Grande have gifted us a musical masterpiece that is much more than we could have ever expected”, “Wicked exceeded my expectations”, and “Jon Chu IS a musical genius and the world he creates and the performances he captures are really next level” (Rotten Tomatoes).

The movie will be two parts with the first part set to drop in just three weeks, on November 22, 2024, and the sequel set to release just a year later, on November 21, 2025.