The film adaptation of the Broadway hit Wicked has defied previous opinions that movie audiences avoid big screen musicals. The recent movie has achieved notable box office records recently overcoming the title held by Grease as the top grossing film inspired from a Broadway show and the strong movie reviews plus rapid Oscar nominations make it a promising franchise with the second part arriving in 2025. Wicked has started a new era where Broadway intersects the IP driven age of cinema that may show a Musical Theater Universe MTU.
The Rise of the Musical Theater Universe (MTU) Driven By Faithful Broadway Adaptations in the Movie Industry
Producers Marc Platt and David Stone translated their successful Broadway musical Wicked into big screen hits following Marvel’s initial approach and satisfying the audiences need for screen adaptation. This move has helped grow musical superfans similar to what occurred for the Marvel fanbase creating a cultural shift from nerdy group to central part of pop culture conversation and awareness. Comic book sites that primarily focus on news related to Avengers or Spiderman are now featuring explainers for Wicked and plot details that rival popular conversations surrounding films such as “What happens after the Snap in Avengers: Infinity War” making MTU a cultural trend. Many new fans that never understood theater are learning important story details and elements from prior play productions of Wicked during this cultural phenomenon that this MTU is generating.
Musical Theater Superfans See Faithful Adaptation as MCU Parallels With Building Franchise Opportunities
Elphaba and Glinda do not team up with Alexander Hamilton or Evan Hansen just yet but Parallels can be found to Marvel's creative strategies that show fan base driven movies and their development for big screen cinematic productions. This strategy has rewarded those like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for their stage performances allowing the films’ development to reward previous artistry. The movie captures familiar nostalgic stage moments including Elphaba’s costume and Glinda's performances all very well received by stage musical fans. It allows them the opportunity to see those characters performed by those skilled talents. The initial fan bases are growing rapidly into larger mainstream audiences by satisfying fan desire for nostalgia in the same manner that previous comic book film franchises had once achieved making MTU comparable with the MCU in popularity.
'Wicked' Movie Prioritizes Fan Service Over Adaptation Similar to Avengers Series
Wicked provides a large holiday family tent pole production however the movie seems only to impact audiences inside the theater and the creative decision by Director Jon M Chu was to make a faithful souvenir program instead of true cinematic interpretation. The approach taken was not to do anything that would anger fans of the original show even at the detriment of new screen concepts showing similar approaches of the MCU series that prioritize existing fan expectations instead of taking creative liberties during adaptation. The movie runs very close to the original show runtime but provides very little new material since this is only the first of two films therefore only presents Act 1 of Wicked, carefully padding it without altering scenes and avoiding any new creativity in music and characters. There is clearly a prioritization of fan service without a need to create original adaptations showcasing the broomstick scene in the same manner as Avengers: Endgame showcasing Cap grabbing Mjolnir with the music from the stage show playing as a cinematic parallel.
This methodology doesn't displease any superfans but leaves viewers wanting true adaptation confused or unsatisfied after seeing it due to the lack of original elements. These approaches to nostalgia act as central pillars to what makes a property profitable such as with other origin style character introductions like with Captain America: First Avenger or Cruella which highlight that characters' journey to finding their destiny. The prequel aspects from Wizard of Oz become key talking points just as popular as discussing comic book adaptations and movies in social media making those key story points more relevant to current entertainment trends.
Creative Decisions Behind Musical Scenes Undermines a True Cinematic Translation
The creative production team treated their musical creation as if it was a sacred text with Director Jon Chu saying Ariana Grande protested any deviations to script as if those changes were some form of bible. The trust in the original stage material has created a rigidity within its film that is similar to some negative or ‘toxic’ fandoms that want to force comic book film entries into exact replica rather than their own unique creative visions. While Wicked film viewers are not overtly vitriolic there exists a clear rigidity about changing any details even small insignificant story points with the result being two very long films. Rob Marshall's Chicago changed source material significantly jettisoning six songs while Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story allowed its cinematic adaptation through a unique perspective providing original creativity while remaining true to musical energy but Wicked's film lacks innovation by becoming a "paint by number" adaptation that is not a new creative work.
Homogenous Cinematography and Misuse of The Wizard of Oz Iconography In Wicked Musical Adaptation
Visually Wicked doesn't translate key elements from the screen even though some musical elements do well by focusing too intensely on original elements as some have noted its homogeneous cinematography . The production completely ignores opportunities to tie back into 1939 Wizard of Oz movie by not using color palettes. Some fans believe a livelier more tangible visual creation similar to The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth films could have set the visual tone of the film instead of being similar in looks to Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania or Thor Ragnarok that is disappointing. During "Defying Gravity" the team used special effects rather than a creative staging technique seen previously making this sequence lose its original impact with over reliant CGI techniques instead of stage tricks that make live productions magical creating a poor adaptation overall. Many viewers felt the team should not replicate everything from original theater productions and that some parts might not be able to translate into visual medium.
Future MTU Films Should Consider More Creative Adaptations With Unique Perspectives
The financial performance of Wicked signals a major positive turn for musical film genres, but the over reliance on fan service for this movie indicates a similar approach to that of other franchises that ultimately lack creative staying power. Some suggest filmmakers learn from past adaptations where they chose to deviate to achieve better outcomes by using films like Alfonso Cuarón’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban compared to Chris Columbus's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or even Marc Webb's Spiderman flicks compared to Sam Raimi's interpretations of that franchise as examples that demonstrate original elements might actually work best. Filmmakers must also love material but use creative choices not replicate source content directly. Hamilton might work by adding a style of Barry Lyndon while feeling like Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” or a Urinetown production like Rankin/Bass claymation showing some level of creative input rather than exact replicas.
The current Wicked movie promotes the original show and allows new audience exposure however does it produce something new that could be called its own and stand the test of time on its merits? Many experts feel that as time goes by we'll observe Wicked to be something ‘limited’ just like Elphaba concludes herself by the end of her arc in the second act.