Despite greater than a yr of build-up and an exhaustive – some would possibly say exhausting – press tour that rivaled a Marvel film in finances, there have been nonetheless many individuals who didn’t know that Depraved, now probably the most profitable movie adaptation of a Broadway musical of all time, is definitely one half of a pair.
To be honest to those that don’t comply with the leisure business, Common billed the 2hr 40min movie, which opens with Ariana Grande’s Glinda the Good Witch promising to inform the “complete story” of her long-lost pal Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), as simply Depraved, not by its title card, Depraved: Half One. And Jon M Chu’s first act concludes with a wildly cathartic, very CGI-ed rendition of Defying Gravity – the uncommon musical tune to transcend theater-kid fandom and possibly the one factor non-Depraved followers would know concerning the present.
The break up, which engendered some skepticism amongst followers and critics, has not deterred audiences; Depraved made greater than $359m in two weekends, smashing a number of musical and holiday-related field workplace data.
The Depraved trustworthy and newly transformed – my screening was stuffed with younger ladies born lengthy after the musical premiered in 2003 – is not going to have to attend too lengthy to see how Elphaba and Glinda find yourself on reverse sides of the East/West, Good/Depraved divide. Depraved: Half Two is slated for 21 November 2025, a day wanting a yr after Half One premiered. This isn’t a Dune state of affairs, the place Half Two was greenlit solely after a misleadingly titled Half One proved its mettle on the field workplace; each Wickeds had been filmed collectively over 5 months on soundstages within the UK (plus an additional 10 days earlier this yr, owing to the Hollywood strikes), guaranteeing that the forged – additionally together with Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater – will stay intact for each elements.
Half One, written by Winnie Holzman (who wrote the e book for the musical) and Dana World Head News, hewed carefully to the unique stage model, not reducing any songs and increasing some scenes. Half Two, which picks up after the stage model’s intermission, was additionally tailored by Holzman and World Head News, and thus will in all probability additionally mirror the leaner, darker second act of the musical. (It’s been 21 years of Depraved on Broadway, however spoilers forward … )
Whereas half one features largely as prequel, going down earlier than a misunderstood Elphaba turns into the Depraved Witch of the West, Half Two is extra revisionist fable, taking part in out in parallel to the occasions of L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel and the basic 1939 movie adaptation. Elphaba exits the Emerald Metropolis in each exile and triumph, having summoned her full powers and realized the hideous reality of the Wizard’s (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible’s (Michelle Yeoh) embrace of fascism on the expense of susceptible scapegoats. (The musical, at turns saccharine and impassioned, just isn’t delicate on the politics, and neither is Chu’s film).
Half Two, assuming Chu as soon as once more stays trustworthy to the musical’s plot (itself loosely primarily based on the novel by Gregory Maguire), picks up a while later, when One thing Dangerous has totally manifested in Oz, with a a lot swifter timeline in addition to origin tales for the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. “If Half 1 is about selections, Half 2 is about penalties,” Chu informed Leisure Weekly. “Selections are troublesome to make, however once you do make these selections, typically the consequence isn’t what you count on it to be. It may be lonely, it may be laborious.” And people selections have turn into “eight occasions extra related” within the context of current political and social occasions, Chu teased to Selection, calling Half Two, a minimum of thematically, a “doozy”.
Regardless of the resonantly darkish materials, Chu has assured that Half Two will maintain a few of the first half’s levity, as finest embodied by the buoyant, near-confectionary presence of Grande. “There’s a number of lightness within the film,” he informed EW. “There’s quite a lot of enjoyable elements. We’ve not forgotten about that, however there’s a matureness and a nuance to it that we earn from the primary film.”
One of many musical’s weaknesses was that its second act lacked the musical firepower of its first, which contained not solely Defying Gravity however theater-kid karaoke staples resembling Widespread, Dancing By means of Life and The Wizard and I. Act two has For Good, arguably the present’s finest duet, in addition to a couple of reprisals. Chu appears to have anticipated the necessity for stability; Stephen Schwartz confirmed that Half Two will embrace two new songs.
There are different anticipated areas of growth. Half One included a shot from behind of Dorothy and her ragtag crew, and the trailer included an as-yet unused shot of them earlier than the Wizard, suggesting display screen time for characters who are usually not seen within the stage model. (Chu, for his half, has stated: “There’s interplay and a few crossover.”)
One other teaser picture exhibits Glinda in what seems to be a marriage robe, a growth exterior the scope of the unique present. And whereas Half One contained the majority of serious cameos – together with unique stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, in addition to Schwartz (as an Emerald Metropolis guard) and Holzman (as a member of an performing troupe) – Half Two will possible include a minimum of a couple of names for Broadway and West Finish followers to identify.
Given the in depth promotion for Half One, I assume we may have solutions to some questions (and cameos) earlier than subsequent Thanksgiving. However solely time will inform whether or not Half Two can forged as sturdy a field workplace spell because the dubiously marketed Half One.
