Wicked producer Marc Platt is previewing what comes next for the film’s story in the upcoming sequel, as well as recalling his early reluctance to split the cinematic adaptation of the successful Broadway production into two different films.
At the Producers Guild of America Nominees Breakfast on Saturday, Platt discussed the challenges of adapting Wicked, which he produced for Broadway, to film for Universal Pictures. Director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, has received ten Oscar nominations since its premiere late last year, with the second installment, Wicked: For Good, slated for November.”I remember going to the movies as a kid and watching musicals or Lawrence of Arabia that had intermissions in it, and that was actually my dream for Wicked, that we could do it with intermission,” Platt said to the crowd. “That was one battle I lost.”
Platt went on to say that he and the project’s creative team, which included Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, who worked on the Broadway version, couldn’t think of anything they wanted to leave out of the stage show, and that they still wanted to explore elements of the characters. “When we did the stage musical, we did cut out a lot of things that we wanted to elaborate upon,” she said. What was Elphaba like as a child? What did she think about the Wizard? What was her heart’s desire? Those types of stuff.
The producer also hinted the topics that will be explored in Wicked: For Good, which, according to Platt, will center on Glinda as she “learns what it really means to be good.” Platt compared Glinda’s journey to that of late politician Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s, when he matured following the death of his brother John F. Kennedy. “[At first,] he was not a leader for the right reasons,” Platt said of RFK. “Then his brother was assassinated, and he experienced a true catharsis. “He really went to the bottom and came out the other side.”
The luncheon at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills celebrated producers of films nominated for the PGA’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award. Samantha Quan (Anora), Andrew Morrison (The Brutalist), Fred Berger (A Complete Unknown), Tessa Ross (Conclave), Mary Parent (Dune: Part Two), Ali Herting (A Real Pain), Philipp Trauer (September 5), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) also took part in the onstage panel discussion. Additionally, Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) provided comments in pre-recorded video parts.
