Stephen Schwartz could add WICKED Movie’s new ‘popular’ ending to stage show

There’s an element of the new Wicked film that composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz would like to incorporate into the stage show. During the “Popular” number, the film includes a slightly extended ending that utilizes key changes and more of Ariana Grande’s soprano range. Although the new ending is being written for the film, Schwartz is interested in making it permanent into the series itself.

“When I started this new ending, (Ariana Grande) was hesitant at first,” Schwartz explained in a recent interview with BuzzFeed UK. “I said, ‘If I had thought of this (ending) back then, I would have done it.’ This is what I think could find its way back into the stage musical.

In a previous interview, Grande told Em Rusciano of the Emsolation Podcast that the number’s final choreography was a last-minute decision.

“We didn’t know if we were going to do this long end with the key changes until we saw the hallway at Shiz. Alice (Brooks) and Jon (M. Chu) both said, ‘We have to take advantage of this.’ “Beautiful hallway. And Chris (Scott), our brilliant choreographer… just choreographed it two days before filming and taught it to me on the fly. And so we decided to use that ending of the song,” Grande shared.

The well-known musical number takes place during Glinda and Elphaba’s time at Shiz University, as Glinda tries to help her unpopular roommate fit in better. Listen to Ariana Grande’s rendition below.

In addition to Grande, the Wicked adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq and Marissa Bode as Nessarose. The first part was released on November 22, 2024, part two will be in theaters on November 21, 2025.

Photo credit: Bruce Glikas