Wicked casts the main character as a tragic figure whose efforts to improve the world of Oz are misconstrued into villainous acts.

The original musical, which ran for about three hours depending on the specific production, has been expanded into a nearly six-hour two-part film. The sheer scale of the film and the narrative structure of the musical make for an obvious breaking point between the story, separating the plot on a very specific part of the story. Here is how long the run-time of Wicked: Part 1 is, why it's been split into two parts, and when fans can expect to see the next chapter in the story.

Wicked Being Two Movies Follows The Musical Having Two Acts

There's A Natural Act Break Built Into Wicked's Narrative

The story of Wicked has been split into two films, which reflects the original musical that inspired it and the way the act break in the play splinters the story. Wicked: Part 1 faithfully recreates the events of the play's first act, which is almost entirely focused on the younger days of Elphaba and Galinda. Long before they became the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, the pair met at Shiz University and changed from rivals to friends to reluctant foes.

During a conversation with Screen Rant's Tatiana Hullender, Wicked playwright Winnie Holzman & lyricist Stephen Schwartz explained their reasoning behind splitting the film into two parts.

Wicked: Part 1 is entirely focused on this portion of the story, and ends at the same point in the story that Act 1 of the original Wicked musical did. Like many theatrical plays, the act break between Wicked's two halves serves as a tonal shift and time leap. While Wicked: Part 1 does briefly tease the ending of the story and reveals the specifics of Elphaba's childhood, most of the movie is centered around the young women as the grow and make the fateful choices that set up their fates in Wicked: Part 2.

How Long The First Wicked Movie Is

Wicked: Part 1 Is Almost As Long As The Original Broadway Musical

Including the credits, Wicked: Part 1 is 2 hours and 41 minutes long. The film's run-time is actually almost the same length as the entire musical that inspired the two-part film. It's to the credit of director Jon M. Chu and his collaborators on the project that Wicked: Part 1 doesn't feel too long, though. While the movie is a very faithful recreation of the musical, it expands on the plot in small ways that improve the story.

The shift from theatre to film also allows the filmmakers to bring the level of detail and focus much tighter, with certain scenes in the story playing out longer than in the musical. This all contributes to Wicked: Part 1's run-time, which can feel a bit long to those unprepared for a musical epic that takes them all across the land of Oz. Notably, the film doesn't change much of the story, largely expanding on elements of the original narrative and only really lengthening one song.

When Wicked Part 2 Releases

Wicked: Part 2 Comes Out A Year After The First One

Wicked: Part 1 and Wicked: Part 2 were both filmed at the same time, with the same cast appearing in both sections of the story. However, there were some delays in filming due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. As a result, Wicked: Part 2 completed filming in Janurary of 2024. However, even without the strikes, the plan always seemed to have the two parts of Wicked released with a year between them. The film is currently set to debut a year after the release of Wicked: Part 1. Currently, Wicked: Part 2 is set to be released November 21, 2025.

If next year's follow-up to Wicked: Part 1 can match the success of the first one, then the musical could become a cinematic smash on the same level with the original musical.

This means both Wicked films will benefit from the typically strong Thanksgiving box office. The sheer scale and budget made a two-part Wicked a risky endeavor for Universal. However, the early critical raves and early tracking for the film suggests Universal's ambitious gamble has paid off. In fact, the box office tracking for Wicked: Part 1 has it earning one of the biggest box office wins of 2024. If next year's follow-up to Wicked: Part 1 can match the success of the first one, then the musical could become a cinematic smash on the same level with the original musical.

Source: Screen Rant'