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Wicked's Full, Magical Screenplay Has Arrived Online (HOW TO READ)

Can't decipher the ancient Ozian magic laid down in the Grimmerie? Not a problem! Read the Wicked script instead!

By Josh Weiss

Magic on the fritz? Can't decipher the ancient Ozian magic laid down in the Grimmerie? Not a problem! Now you can peruse the complete Wicked Part One screenplay, recently shared online by Deadline as part of the website's "Read the Screenplay" series (part of a campaign to drum up Awards Season excitement).

Starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West) and Ariana Grande as Glinda (the future Good Witch of Oz), the long-awaited film adaptation — which initially entered development two decades ago — was in good hands from the very start, owing to the fact that Winnie Holzman simply adapted her own book written for the acclaimed Broadway musical alongside screenwriter Dana Fox (Cruella, The Lost City). Together they were *ahem* unlimited, one might say.

RELATED: Want to Sing-Along with Wicked on the Big Screen? Everything to Know

"Coming back into it, we realized that there were aspects of the story that we wanted to explore more deeply, and with more nuance," Holzman explained to Deadline. "When we got the go-ahead for two films, we knew we’d have the ability to keep everything we wanted to keep, and still expand certain key moments. We are telling the same story, while allowing it to blossom into something new."

"It’s been exciting us for a long time," added original lyricist/composer Stephen Schwartz. "The story of Wicked — as brilliantly imagined by Gregory Maguire and then as realized by Winnie and myself and our show collaborators — has spoken to people who have made it their own. Each of our characters is keeping a secret from the world — sometimes even a secret from themselves. That’s what the show is about: revealing what’s under the surface"

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) hold hands and smile in Wicked (2024).

Where can you read the screenplay for Wicked Part One?

Relive the magical, pre-Wizard of Oz saga of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) by heading on over to Deadline for exclusive access to the 124-page script for Wicked Part One.

RELATED: Watch Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo (plus Jeff Goldblum?!) Bust Out a Wicked-Catchy Wicked Rap

How can you watch Wicked in theaters?

Boasting a gravity-defying score of 88% on Rotten TomatoesWicked Part One is now playing in theaters everywhere. Click here to pick up tickets for yourself and the whole family! The sequel — Wicked Part Two — is set to follow on November 21, 2025.

To date, the film (directed by Jon M. Chu) has grossed over half a billion dollars at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing adaptation of a Broadway musical in Hollywood history by a very wide margin.