Wicked Is Finally Getting Its True Theme Park Moment at Universal Fan Fest Nights

It’s good to see them, isn’t it? Elphaba and Glinda will be joining the line-up at Universal Fan Fest Nights. The after-hours fandom celebration will debut the highly anticipated Wicked meet-and-greet at Universal Studios Hollywood for theme park and movie fans during the separately ticketed event. This follows up the characters’ recent short stints at Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Singapore where they seemingly took the long way to reach the West Coast.

And it seems this is only the beginning for Oz at Universal. The Wicked characters joining Fan Fest Nights news comes after a recent tease from Universal’s theme park chief Mark Woodbury, who told the New York Times that the company has “secret plans” in the works for experiences inspired by Universal Pictures’ blockbuster musical motion picture starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

A part of us hopes that the Oscar-nominated co-stars might don their own costumes one of the nights—and there’s precedent for it. Lupita Nyong’o did it as a surprise during Halloween Horror Nights in the Us house based on the Jordan Peele horror film, and Ryan Gosling showed up at the premiere of The Fall Guy mini stuntshow at the parks. And not for nothing, but Grande is a known huge theme park nerd.

Even if that wish doesn’t end up coming true, it’s delightful to see Wicked at Universal destinations this soon. Wicked director Jon M. Chu truly created a world fans can’t wait to be a part of and meeting the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch will hold them over until whatever is next gets announced.

Here’s our suggestion: with the news that the Fast and Furious: Supercharged portion of the Studio Tour will be vacating its drive-thru 360 experience on the attraction, perhaps the Universal Studios tram could magically become the train to Oz for “one short day” in the Emerald City. Eventually, we hope we’ll get to travel somewhere over the rainbow to an Oz land at Epic Universe or Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, which houses franchises inspired by books so it’d be a perfect fit. The future truly is unlimited!

Universal Fan Fest Nights featuring exclusive Wicked, One Piece, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Dungeons & Dragons, Nintendo, and Harry Potter experiences begins Friday, April 25 and continues select nights through Sunday, May 18 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Buy tickets here.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.