WICKED RELEASE PREPONED, TO CLASH WITH GLADIATOR 2 IN NOVEMBER

Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it will be moving up the release date for the movie adaptation of Wicked from its original date, slated November 27th. The reschedule has been done to avoid competition with Disney's Moana 2. The film will now be releasing a week earlier, on November 22nd, the same day as Gladiator 2.

The release date for Wicked has already been shifted once before, which was originally planned to release on the 25th of December, 2024, but was changed to avoid clashing with similar kids movies releasing on the same day, like Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, the filmmaker of Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, will be released in two parts, with the second movie scheduled to release on November 26th, 2025, a year after the first part.

The story is meant to serve as a sequel to The Wizard of Oz, adapted from the famous broadway musical that features classic songs like Popular and Defying Gravity. It looks at The Wizard of Oz from a different angle, showing the unlikely friendship between a young Elphaba— the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Cynthia Erivo— and Glinda the Good, played by Ariana Grande. Other major characters include Fiyero, both girls' love interest, who is played by Jonathan Bailey, and the Wizard of Oz, played by Jeff Goldblum.

Gladiator 2 is a highly anticipated sequel to the Oscar winning movie Gladiator, releasing two decades after the first movie. The plot is set in the Roman Empire, several decades after the first movie. Lucius, the grandson of Marcus Aurelius, the former Roman Emperor, is forced into slavery when general Marcus Acacius invades. Inspired by Maximus, the hero of Gladiator, Lucius decides to fight as a gladiator in the arena while challenging the emperors Caracalla and Geta.

Lucius Verus will be played by Paul Mescal, and his ally Macrinus will be played by Denzel Washington. Pedro Pascal will be playing the general Marcus Acacius, with Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger playing the co-emperors Geta and Caracalla.

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