Wicked: For Good "A Masterpiece" - Deadline First Reaction

We have our first reaction to Wicked: For Good from Deadline's Baz Bamigboye. In the piece, director Jon M. Chu sheds light on his approach to the broadway musical adaptation's second half. Bamigboye, who was treated to a preview of the film, sprinkles effusive praise throughout the piece. Here's some of what Bamigboye has said:

“It’s gloriously, deliciously good.” He doesn't hold back, ending the piece with, “Chu and his artists have breathed life into [Wicked]. Even more so for Wicked: For Good. It’s how I felt when I saw The Godfather: Part Two. That was a masterpiece too.”

He continues, “The audience at the private screening I attended in London applauded as the final credits rolled. It’s truly one of the year’s outstanding movies. It’s a marvelous piece of cinematic art.”

"More thrilling than the first"

You might recall last year when Wicked was screened for several Variety press members to heaping praise and bullish predictions that it would win Best Picture. Bamigboye even writes, "It’s no secret that I loved Wicked the movie.” So it's no surprise he loved this. But beyond the acclaim, Bamigboye and Chu offer some insight about the care put into the sequel, and how it's perhaps even more thrilling than the first.

“Some might even argue that it’s a tighter, more thrilling, more exciting film than Wicked," Bamigboye writes. This should surprise those who believe "Wicked: Part One" set the bar too high by ending on "Defying Gravity", which is widely thought to be the best part about the musical. Many believe the musical's second half is the weaker of the two, and Chu hints that film might defy expectations.

Chu teases the two new songs, No Place Like Home and Girl in the Bubble, performed by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande respectively, and had this to say at a recent Q&A: “I thought the second half was the meat… the adult selves looking back at their dreams and their hopes and what they thought the world was... and all of it shatters," Chu says, brimming with passion for the story he's spent years bringing to the screen. “What happens when the home that you’re fighting for, you realize, was never built for you?”

"Wicked: Part One" took its time through the musical numbers and slowed down the story so we feel more emotional touch points with the characters. Jon M. Chu makes it clear we can expect the exact same thing here, and perhaps on a greater scale. After all, he stretches an hour-long act two into two hours and eighteen minutes (the films back-to-back will run at just over 5 hours).

Academy Awards Prospects Ahead of Release Remain Strong With 11 Nominations Predicted

The first Wicked took the Oscar season by storm with ten nominations, performing even stronger than expected when it crept into Best Editing and Best Original Score. "Wicked: For Good" has the potential to build on that success in significant ways. According to Award Expert users, the film is on track for 11 Oscar nominations. In Best Picture, it ranks the highest of any film that has yet to have a public screening.

Though you may think it's far-fetched that the sequel will top the nomination count of the first, there are three nominations the sequel can score that the first could not: Best Original Song x2, and Best Casting, a category which the Academy Awards are introducing for the first time.

Awards Hopes Remain High for the Films' Stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are on track to duplicate their nominations from last year. With a thinning Best Actress Category, Cynthia Erivo holds strong at 84% of users predicting a nomination. Her co-star Ariana Grande is poised for a nomination. But beyond a nomination, there's a clearing for her to win the Oscar. Even after the fall festivals come to a close, no other performance has stood out to awards prognosticators as having greater potential to win, with 62% of users predicting she takes the trophy.

The Best Supporting Actress race is by no means sewed up, but there's an important stat to keep in mind here. Musicals that are nominated in Best Picture tend to win Supporting Actress when nominated. This includes "Emilia Pérez", "West Side Story (both films)", "Les Misérables", "Chicago", and "Nashville". I struggle to find an exception to this rule. Ariana Grande might have broken the pattern last year, except that Zoe Saldaña beat her for another musical. With no other musicals in the category, Grande might have her best shot yet.

Lastly, we ought to consider Jonathan Bailey, who received a SAG nomination last year, but came up short of an Oscar nomination. He's mentioned in the article for his romance between his character and Elphaba:“There’s heat between Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero — a splendid performance, by the way." It continues, “Their relationship seems to develop in a deeper, perhaps more intimate, way than it does in the stage show. Seeing their courtship pan out on stage is one thing, but it’s a gobsmacking, beautifully unexpected moment on screen."So let's not sleep on Jonathan Bailey, who is currently predicted by 5% of users.