‘Wicked’ Almost Became a TV Miniseries – And You Won’t Believe Who Was Set to Star!

‘Wicked: Part I’ recently released to glowing reviews and phenomenal box office success. It’s based on the stage musical ‘Wicked,’ which is inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, itself a reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.’

The film follows Elphaba, who will become the Wicked Witch of the West, and her friendship with Galinda, who will become Glinda the Good, set in the Land of Oz before Dorothy arrives.

The main cast of ‘Wicked: Part I’ includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good. Supporting roles feature Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Dr. Dillamond. Other notable cast members include Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister.

Now following the release of the movie, it’s hard to imagine it as something else, starring different names, but did you know that in 2011, ABC Studios planned to turn ‘Wicked’ into a TV series, focusing on the darker elements of the original book instead of the stage musical.

Salma Hayek was supposed to lead the project with José Tamez through their company, Ventanarosa Productions. They planned an 8-hour miniseries with Hayek also in a supporting role. The script was to be written by Erik Jendresen, who worked on ‘Band of Brothers’ and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies.

However, the project never got off the ground. While it’s common for TV shows to be delayed or put on hold, it’s unclear why ‘Wicked’ never happened, though challenges with adapting the characters or waiting for a film version might have been factors.

Before the TV idea, there was already an attempt to adapt ‘Wicked,’ but it was rejected by Steve McPherson, the former ABC president. When Paul Lee took over, the series had a chance, but it still never happened.

Gregory Maguire, the author, wasn’t sure why but mentioned that the rights for a non-musical version were still held by another company, and there had been no progress in using them.

The root of the problem might be the fact that the show was non-musical, and this doesn’t seem like the best strategy for this particular IP. In an interview, producer Marc Platt explained that the ‘Wicked’ script didn’t work well, especially the third act. He thought the story might be better as a play in two acts. Platt also believed adding music would bring the magic missing from the script and help tell the characters’ stories more effectively.

I had a feeling that putting music into it would add some of that magic that was missing in the screenplays and in telling the story of the journeys of two separate characters, music allows for the kind of inner monologue that’s hard to get at cinematically.

‘Wicked’ will indeed get two acts. The sequel, ‘Wicked Part Two,’ will be released on November 21, 2025, instead of the previously planned dates of December 25, 2025, and November 26, 2025.

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