IP-crazy Hollywood will never stop.
There was no chance Universal Pictures was going to let “Wicked: For Good” be the final film of the franchise. The sequel earned $147M domestically—$35M+ more than the first installment—and it sounds like they’re looking to make more movies.
In an interview with Vulture, Universal’s head of film marketing, Michael Moses, reveals that the studio is already exploring ways to develop more “Wicked” sequels—or potentially a spinoff—thanks to strong audience demand.
“Because of Wicked’s success but also the fanship, we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe,” Moses told the outlet. “Have we figured it out yet? No. But there are things underway.”
Following the New York premiere of “Wicked: For Good,” Stephen Schwartz, the original Broadway musical’s composer-lyricist, said that he and Tony winner Winnie Holzman (co-writer of both films) “are doing some work right now on ideas that aren’t a sequel to Wicked.”
Just don’t expect Glinda and Elphaba—that story is complete— “but there are other aspects that could be explored,” Schwartz told The Ankler. “Gregory Maguire, the original Wicked novelist, has several books, for example. But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way.”
Honestly, Universal is sitting on a goldmine of stories from Frank L. Baum’s works. Most are in the public domain, meaning anyone could adapt them—but with an established franchise already in place, the studio is in the prime position to capitalize on that material.