10 Tweets About ‘Wicked’ & ‘Gladiator 2’ Being The Barbenheimer of 2024
I don’t think I’ll ever recover from 2023’s biggest films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, aka Barbenheimer. After the large amounts of pink and brown, yelling “Hi Barbie” to everyone on opening weekend, and seeing Cillian Murphy on the big screen, I have been changed as a person. Not only did the entire world fall head over heels for Barbenheimer, but it’s clear that a phenomenon had taken over the film industry. Now, it seems like upcoming movies have taken note of Barbenheimer’s success.
Who knew that a plastic doll and the father of the atomic bomb could pave the way for the next big event of 2024: Wicked & Gladiator 2? Get your diamond wands and start thinking about the Roman Empire, we’re very much here for this new crossover.
In case you’re confused about what this means, I’ll catch you up. Originally, Wicked was set to premiere in theaters on November 27, 2024. The film will follow a young witch named Elphaba (Cynthia Ervio) who begins a friendship with Glinda (Ariana Grande), a sorceress, during their time at Shiz University. The film was expected to be a holiday release, which fans have been anticipating for almost 2 decades. However, Wicked moved its release date up to November 22, 2024, falling on the same day another film that is guaranteed to have audiences excited, Gladiator 2.
Gladiator 2 is the sequel to Gladiator, which follows Lucius (Paul Mescal) who trains to become a gladiator after a Roman general named Marcus Acacius begins to take over Lucius’ home. Lucius has to fight off and deal with emperor brothers Caracalla (Joseph Quinn) and Geta (Fred Hechinger) on his quest to save his land.
With some of our favorite actors in both of these films, fans have already voiced their excitement for these releases.
me and the girls going from gladiator 2 to wicked on november 22 pic.twitter.com/DJCmAKcidV
— zoë rose bryant (@zoerosebryant) July 1, 2024
Me on November 22 when I double feature Wicked & Gladiator 2: pic.twitter.com/jJ3cG0h7Me
— Jillian🫧 (@JillianChili) July 1, 2024
Wicked boyfriend Gladiator girlfriend pic.twitter.com/MAZz0pTgdU
— Marc (@marcsnetiker) July 2, 2024
wicked and gladiator 2 the same day….. pic.twitter.com/slgMwxU790
— kenzie xcx 🐦⬛ (@kenzvanunu) July 1, 2024
Me in line Nov 22 explaining to people who are seeing Gladiator II the plot of Wicked pic.twitter.com/zIKPxr4K8h
— 💫 (@heyjaeee) July 1, 2024
https://t.co/qdOFoCnGP1 pic.twitter.com/CTQ7bGKMsW
— The Film Drunk (@thefilmdrunk) July 1, 2024
Wicked boyfriend, Gladiator girlfriend pic.twitter.com/0g43ElS4qi
— Christopher Mac 🦭 (@motherquoter) July 2, 2024
wicked and gladiator being released on the same day means that we could see ariana and paul together in actors on actors pic.twitter.com/0pOZoOisz8
— santiago (@sillylbxduser) July 1, 2024
gladiator 2 and wicked realising the same day pic.twitter.com/lZNlfBadQO
— mary ﾒ𝟶 (@plutosbreakfast) July 3, 2024
Me showing up to watch Gladiator 2 and Wicked back-to-backpic.twitter.com/bzYnH1jlxZ https://t.co/n4fkmTFBmt
— had (@aadidaas) July 3, 2024
Even Jon M. Chu, the director of Wicked, has voiced his excitement about the November 22 double feature.
#Wickediator “Are you not entertained?!!!” November 22nd 😂 https://t.co/q18o4v29Kq
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) July 2, 2024
5. DAYS. EARLIER!!!! Let’s goooo!! #WickedMovie #Nov22 pic.twitter.com/p9WWjYBBeo
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) July 1, 2024
Now that the release date has moved up, we’re already planning on how to celebrate this double feature. Will we see people in green and pink Gladiator-inspired outfits? We can already imagine there being a crossover between actors like Grande and Mescal at some point, and especially with the star power of both casts, the possibilities are endless. We may still have a long way to go until we get to see Wicked and Gladiator 2, but we are definitely going to be seated until further notice.
