Stage musicals on the Broadway stage are an institution, and it’s become quite commonplace for movie musicals to adapt that material for film. While this sometimes includes offbeat musicals, the next addition to the genre will be the beloved mega hit Wicked. But even though a number of musicals won Best Picture, there are plenty of haters out there who don’t like when actors break out into song. Although Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo shared her thoughts on those who hate musicals, and made a good point.
What we know about Wicked is fairly extensive, at least for Broadway fans who know every word of the blockbuster stage production. But the question is how director John M. Chu and the Wicked cast will make the material their own. While speaking with Empire, Evrivo reacted to folks who inherently dislike musicals, saying:
I never understand when [musical haters] are like, ‘Why are people singing randomly?’ Because people sing every day, randomly, in the middle of the street! They literally do! I have sat in cars and people are just singing along to songs! Or the amount of times where people do that passive-aggressive thing of, when something happens that they don’t like, instead of saying, ‘What’s going on?’, they sing the thing that’s happening. Or at football stadiums, all of a sudden, everyone is singing along together — that’s singing in real life!
Points were made. Music is a huge part of many people’s lives, and spans years, genres, and tons of money. So many of us sing in the car and shower, which Cynthia Erivo doesn’t seem to think is that much different than belting out beloved songs from Wicked. And that’s not even considering other events like karaoke or singing along to concerts.
While some movie musicals have tried to hide the fact that there would be musical numbers during its runtime, Wicked‘s trailer has put singing front and center. Although there was some debate about whether or not it would be two movies. In the same interview, Erivo went on to explain what makes movie musicals so special, offering:
There’s something really special about a movie musical. In its essence, it becomes a spectacle, whether you like it or not. I think that we don’t give audiences enough credit when it comes to musicals, so we pretend that musicals aren’t musicals. And I think now, it’s okay to just be like, ‘Hey, this is a musical, come and see it, you’ll survive… and you might even like it!’
Points were made. And considering that she’s a Tony Award-winning actress, Cynthia Erivo knows what she’s talking about. It does seem like Wicked has a ton of hype around it ahead of its release in November. Hopefully that results in a strong box office performance, especially since the second movie is expected to arrive a year later.
Luckily for hardcore Wicked fans and moviegoers alike, the wait is nearly over. The first Wicked movie will arrive in theaters on November 22nd. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates.