Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[Skold]

I just keep reminding people Skull Island broke it anyway

Hey, now!

(The tangled copyright issues that sprang from this publication is a wild story!)

And of course let's not forget this classic,

 

[AustinT]

Anecdotally, a lot of hardcore fans who saw the first one multiple times and trailed off doing the same for the second.

I'm not arguing for no presence in theme parks, but I question the true size of it's audience and how successful it's actually been- breaking even and huge profits are not the same even if it's in the black. I'm not convinced they need to build on the scale of Potter to shift the same merch. I also don't really want to hang on every word screamscape prints either, no one else is saying that so far.

Thank you for looking at things realistically and analytically. Wicked FG will be struggling to squeak past 500M as a final tally at the box office as it continues to drop like a rock. Massive drop off from the first film's 750M+ tally. It's certainly has popularity, but it seems like that's taken a hit. I think this massive marketing push two years in a row and the non-stop press push on social media has just tired out the average person who wasn't already a huge fan.

It'll certainly make a beautiful, immersive land wherever it ends up, but I do wonder how they approach this one. A break from the franchise for 5+ years and maybe returning with a cheaper film continuation with a themed land seems like a safe bet. Plopping it in Epic would mean a ton of capital and a lot more faith behind it than plopping it into USF, so it'll be interesting to see what they decide.

 

[DOOMBOT]

I was myself skeptical of Wicked for a long while. I viewed it as trendy and not suited for a long-term "land" project. You can find posts from me like that as of like, 2 months ago.

I've come around on it. I think the strength of Oz really carries it over the finish line. It's one of the biggest and most iconic broadway shows of all time, strengthened by its' deep connection to one of the most iconic classic films ever. The Wizard of Oz is iconic to a fault, where it's almost difficult to rewatch because it's been remixed and parodied and retold just so many times. It's also a story with a long history of theme park adaptations, big and small. There's a reason why Disney World chose the Wicked Witch scene to debut one of their most impressive animatronics ever, at the time.

If you play into those classic and universally recognizable elements, and strengthen it with iconic characters and moments from Wicked itself (Elphaba, Glinda, Defying Gravity, Pink & Green, Popular, No One Mourns the Wicked), you'll have a land that makes total sense within the whole that is Universal Orlando Resort.