The yearlong wait for Wicked: For Good is over.
Box offices opened Friday with the movie’s second part and brought in $226 million worldwide in its opening weekend, according to Variety. The iconic story of Elphaba who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West originated as a 1995 book by Gregory Maguire, who was inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Translated into a musical in 2003, the story’s most recent adaptation into film has touched a broad range of audiences for more than 30 years.
As an award-winning executive producer, Bryant’s Communication and Language Studies Lecturer Pam Glennon notes that translating a story across artistic mediums is no easy feat. It requires careful attention to the story’s lifespan, protecting core messages and themes, and releasing the finished product in a culturally relevant moment.
“Producers who make adaptations are careful about walking a fine line on how they can tell a story in a slightly more modern and new way, while, at the same time, not making major changes that would affect the characters and create consequences within the plot,” says Glennon, who’s teaching “The Art and Science of Storytelling” course this spring and will have students develop concepts and marketable intellectual property (IP).
In the case of Wicked, the film version has found initial success. Part one of the movie went on to make $474.6 million domestically and $281.4 million internationally, according to Forbes, and received 10 Academy Award nominations in 2025.
Below, Glennon unpacks what makes an adaptation work, how executives search for potential content, and the value of considering new IP.
Selecting a story with legs
When film and television executives are on the hunt for stories to tell, they’re searching for ideas that have a lot of legs. The story, at its core, must be interesting in its themes and messaging and can be translated in different ways worldwide.
Some creative challenges producers face when translating a story from one artistic medium to another is the balance of staying true to the plot while taking some creative liberties. With an iconic piece such as Wicked, Glennon notes that audiences are quick to pick up on changes.
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“In the film, producers made some creative choices to stick to the original story but modernize it in a way that audiences today will connect with. The original story is fantastic, but filmmakers lightened the story up a little bit to appeal to a broader age range and audience,” says Glennon, noting that the book is a bit on the darker side.
She adds that the filmmakers’ decision to break the story into two different parts and end the last film on the song “Defying Gravity” was a strategic move; not only did it make the story more digestible, but it emphasized the significance of Elphaba’s breakout moment rather than having it buried in the larger story.
“You have to look at the audience and how they're consuming it,” Glennon says.
Considering how to adapt
With highly successful stories like Wicked, Glennon shares that it makes sense to tell popular pieces again on new platforms.
“A lot of times you will see stories that are older get modernized for the present day,” Glennon says, noting that Wicked could be considered older IP.
When examining older stories and older IP, how a story is adapted depends on the original method of IP. For instance, if executives are looking to adapt a book, they must consider whether the story elements lend themselves to the platform they’re hoping to translate it to. In most cases, books have a greater build up and more details that can’t be captured on screen when there’s a limited time to tell that story.
Glennon notes that sometimes it takes years to adapt a work into film.
“It might not be right for a certain time period, and then culturally things change, and the story is relevant again,” Glennon says. “In some instances, a work can be produced very quickly, but it’s really a case-by-case scenario.”
Understanding where the success lies
While Wicked has proven itself successful, Glennon notes that there are many instances where executives and buyers might see a well-performing book or story, and it doesn't translate well to the big screen or to the musical format.
“Sometimes they're thinking more of the dollar signs versus the story itself and why we're telling it in these new forms,” Glennon says.
While it’s important to look at older IP like Wicked, she shares that more emphasis should be given on newer IP.
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“It's scary to invest sometimes in a new IP where you don't know if the audience is going to like that story, so that's why you see these iconic stories retold,” shares Glennon.
She notes that there have been massive cultural and societal changes every decade, and new voices and stories are out there that should be told.
“I don't always think they get a fair chance because it isn't a tested story. But those are equally as important to tell, if not more important,” Glennon says.
Because, who knows, these newer IPs could just be the ‘Wickeds’ of the future.