As ‘Wicked‘ fans prepare to be changed for good in less than a month, the marketing hype train is busier than the train to the Emerald City. But with trailers, teasers, posters and now full song clips fans are becoming tired of the sheer amount of the movie they’re seeing.
Following the successful marketing cycle for the first film in the two-part saga, which left fans holding space for the movie and its cast, any content for the sequel has received a lot of attention. Yet, noticeably more and more of the advertising contains major spoilers that those who haven’t seen the stage production have worked hard to avoid. For some that meant leaving the theatre following the gravity-defying act one closer to avoid any of the plot that will feature in the second part.
Posters for the major players have been released, including one featuring the Cowardly Lion who was recently announced to be voiced by star of stage and screen Colman Domingo. However, the character arcs of some have been teased far too heavily meaning anyone could pick up on what comes next.
Fiyero’s poster presents Jonathon Bailey in his guards outfit in front of a cornfield backdrop. This makes it very easy to draw the connection between Fiyero and the Scarecrow so those who missed the “brainless” and “thoughtless” lyrics in ‘Dancing Through Life’ will be significantly less shocked in the cinema next month.
In Boq’s artwork, Ethan Slater is framed by metal suggesting his relationship to the Tinman. Slater practically confirmed his transformation when he posted a photo of the Tinman after our first full look in the final trailer. The foreshadowing for this arc is far less blatant in part one so to see an actor ruin it for so many fans is disappointing.
If the name didn’t make it obvious, Madame Morrible being the one to create the twister that brings Dorothy and Toto from Kansas to Oz and also kills the Wicked Witch of the East, has been revealed since the first trailer released at the beginning of June. This theme remains in her poster with Michelle Yeoh producing a hurricane.
Slightly more subtly is Jeff Goldblum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz poster that to the uninformed may come across innocent but to a keen eye the repetitive green elixir bottles that Elphaba has as a reminder of her deceased mother, make up the background.
One of the only posters that doesn’t include major spoilers for the main cast is Nessarose. Unfortunately her fate was shown in the final trailer which is especially frustrating given that this scene will face major changes from the stage production after Marrissa Bode pitched in with her experience as a wheelchair user to the issues brought up.
It has to be acknowledged that the opportunity to see the stage production on Broadway has been available for more than 20 years, and nearly 20 in London’s West End, but with the ever increasing ticket prices these films are the first opportunity for many to see the untold story of the witches of Oz. And the amount of new Wicked fans can be felt throughout the musical theatre space.
Universal Pictures, director Jon M Chu, marketing teams and cast members have a duty to allow fans the proper experience when they go to see the movie. That means keeping the secrets until November 21 even if a photo will look nice on Instagram. Keeping in mind, however, that apart from the addition of two new songs, ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ for Elphaba and ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ for Glinda, we still don’t know what is going to make up the heavily extended runtime. So perhaps they have made sure to protect the spoilers that long-time fans and new viewers will be surprised by.
Despite the spoilers, there’s no doubt that Wicked: For Good will be just as popular as the first film when it is released in cinemas November 21. And when it is, anyone that has avoided anything from the movie will be changed for good.
Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Journalism and Film and Media student who loves writing about TV. @darcyrobson07
