Adam McKay has shared his thoughts on Wicked‘s future in the U.S. Recently, the movie musical was briefly banned in Kuwait because of its LGBTQ cast. McKay took to X, formerly Twitter, to say that he “wouldn’t be surprised to see the movie banned in 3-5 years” in the U.S. if “America keeps going on the track it is.”
The director called Wicked “one of the most radical big studio Hollywood movies ever made” and pointed to its storytelling as the reason for a potential ban in the near future. “I know Part 2 swings back to the center a bit but Part 1 is nakedly about radicalization in the face of careerism, fascism, propaganda,” McKay continued.
When another X account responded to McKay’s original tweet, writing, “It just looked like more American fantasy, franchise-wringing,” the director told the user he’d be “shocked” at Wicked‘s central themes.
McKay continued in his own thread, “What’s really striking about Wicked Part 1 is that it’s coming out NOW when America has never been more right wing and propagandized. And yes, I know the theatrical production and the book are much older so part of the timing is a coincidence but still…”
Since its release, Wicked has been heralded for its inclusive storyline which centers Cynthia Erivo as the ostracized, green-hued Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba and her frenemy Glinda, played by Ariana Grande. In a now-viral press interview, Out reporter Tracy E. Gilchrist informed Erivo, who identifies as queer, how LGBTQ people are resonating with the lyrics of “Defying Gravity.”
Despite being turned into a meme, the journalist had more sincere intentions when she shared the observation. “When I posed the question to Cynthia about people holding space with the lyrics to ‘Defying Gravity,’ it was two days after the election, and everyone I knew in the LGBTQ+ community was trying to make sense of what we might be facing,” Gilchrist later clarified in an Out article.
McKay’s comments about Wicked extended into a larger discussion about censorship in the U.S. He went on to compare the movie musical to other “radical big studio” projects like The Sound of Music, Citizen Kane, and The Hunger Games. In recent years, the director has created his own major studio productions that have political leanings, including 2021’s Don’t Look Up, 2018’s Vice, and 2015’s The Big Short.
McKay made a point to clarify that that his Wicked comments were not a critique on the film. “I’m not reviewing the movie. I’m talking about the story and POV as a commercial worldwide film.”
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