The Super Bowl gave us a ton of new trailers to get excited about, but one that has people particularly hyped is the trailer for Wicked. The upcoming film based on a stage play based on a book based on characters from another book has been in development for a long time; in fact, the project was first announced by Universal back in 2012. However, numerous delays in production and the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that the film has been trapped in development hell for almost 12 years.
As you can imagine, the direction of the film has likely changed multiple times between then and now. It was announced back in 2022 that the film would be 2 parts releasing in 2024 and 2025. At the time, fans were pretty excited to see the story explored in a lot more depth. However, many were taken aback by the presence of some familiar faces appearing in the trailer on Sunday.
Although it’s only a brief moment in the trailer, we can clearly see Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. If you’re not familiar with the original stage production of Wicked, Dorothy doesn’t really make an appearance, there is only a small nod to the character in the song “No One Mourns The Wicked” but we definitely never got to see her in the flesh along with her companions. The trailer even gives her the book-accurate silver slippers, as opposed to the famous ruby ones Judy Garland wore in the 1939 film.
Could we be getting a Wizard of Oz reboot?
Of course, this is a big change from the Broadway source material, and fans of the play are understandably asking what on earth is going on? Clearly Dorothy and her companions will have a bigger part in the story, but could this also mean that we’ll be getting a reboot of The Wizard of Oz? When you think about it, it makes sense; Wicked is a prequel to the original L. Frank Baum story, and why else would the studio go to the trouble of casting and introducing these characters if not to use them in a future film?
The 1939 film is one of the most famous and beloved movies of all time, and at this point Hollywood has already remade and rebooted practically everything else, so why should The Wizard of Oz be any different? Of course, the answer is exactly because it is so beloved; some things you should just leave alone. This would be the first-ever remake of The Wizard of Oz — not including The Wiz, which is more of a reimagining — which is a pretty bold move on Universal’s part, as there will certainly be many who hate the idea.
The idea that Universal are remaking the classic film is also backed up by the fact that Wicked hasn’t been labeled as “Wicked Part One.” Could this mean that the Part Two that we know we’re getting next year could actually be a reboot, thus connecting the two stories in a way that’s never been done before? That certainly seems to be what the trailer is suggesting, anyway.