Wicked, the movie based on the Broadway musical and novel of the same name, will be released on November 22, 2024. The movie has been a long time coming, as deterrents like the Covid-19 pandemic and the SAG-AFTRA strike of 2023 led to it being released later. As promotion season is in currently in full swing, may fans are excited to return to Oz on the big screen- but the rollout is not without controversy.

The film is being released in two parts, with part one coming out 2024 and part two scheduled for November of 2025. Part one will feature all the original songs from the musical, but part two will have some original tracks. Fans of the musical aren’t completely on board with this choice, as the gap between the movie release times is significant, but others are still looking forward to the potential new songs and new elements of the films.

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, has also been under fire for her reaction to a fan-made poster. The poster was edited to give Elphaba red lipstick and to cover her eyes with her hat, reminiscent of the iconic Playbill illustration for Wicked. “This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen,” said Erivo in an Instagram post. “I am a real-life human being, who choose to look down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer… because without words we communicate with our eyes.” Many people have reacted to Erivo’s post in confusion as to them it was a miniscule change, though others empathize with her since she is one of the people in the original photo and has the right to be upset about the way people use the image.

Regardless of its mixed responses, plenty of fans will still be eagerly rush to theaters to see Wicked this coming weekend.