Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, the writers behind filmmaker John Chu‘s blockbuster film adaptations of Wicked, say they aren’t particularly worried about “spoilers” ruining big moments in this weekend’s Wicked: For Good — although they certainly feel for first-time viewers struggling to avoid the ending in advance of the release.
Holzman originally wrote the book for the long-running Broadway show based on Gregory Maguire‘s best-selling novel, before working with Fox to turn it into a screenplay. But after more than 20 years on the stage (and almost exactly 30 years since Maguire’s 1995 book), they say the movie experience can’t be predicated on going in cold.
“It didn’t open yesterday, it’s been running for 21 years,” The Hollywood Reporter quotes Holzman as saying. “Not just in America, all over the place. It’s been touring and it’s been in a lot of languages. There are some answers in that you can know … If you go find that out yourself, you can know those things.”
Of course, not everyone will have had a chance to see the stage show, and younger audiences may not have had much motivation to read a (decidedly non-musical) 30-year-old book. For those people, Holzman says she’s excited.
“I have to pay homage to people who are having their responses because that is what we wanted,” Holzman said. “Passion is beautiful. It shows how they gave their hearts.”
Wicked: For Good is expected to earn around $115 million at the domestic box office and a monster $200 million globally in its opening weekend, which kicks off tonight with preview screenings ahead of a full roll-out tomorrow.
The current projections put the movie roughly on par with the opening weekend for big franchise movies like Fantastic Four: First Steps and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3. The film stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the two lead roles, with a cast that includes Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis, from Universal Pictures:
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.
As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
