Where Was Wicked Filmed? From Munchkinland to Shiz University
The two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical was so massive, it needed 17 soundstages and four backlots.
Whether it was planting a field of 9 million multicolored tulips on the outskirts of Munchkinland or bringing the Emerald City to vivid life without the use of CGI, the job of realizing acclaimed musical Wicked on the big screen (Part One is now streaming on Peacock!) proved to be a massive undertaking for director Jon M. Chu (In the Heights), production designer Nathan Crowley (Interstellar), and their talented production army of devoted craftspeople in the United Kingdom.
The two-part adaptation was so big, in fact, that it required the use of 17 soundstages between three studios, as well as four major backlot sets. And if that's not impressive enough for you, here's another mind-blowing bit of trivia straight out of Oz: Two of the sets were as large as four American football fields — apiece!
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"These expansive, practical sets — many as tall as 50 feet and covering entire stage footprints — allowed for 360-degree filming with minimal blue-screen work," according to the official production notes provided by Universal Pictures. "This approach provided [director of photography Alice] Brooks with exceptional freedom in lighting real, tangible spaces, enhancing the film’s visual authenticity and scale."
Where was Wicked filmed?
According to Time Out, Wicked's main filming hub was Sky Studios Elstree just outside of London, with overflow requiring soundstages at the nearby Elstree Studios and Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden — the latter of which served as longtime home of the Harry Potter movies. The stages were, of course, used for interior locations, which included everything from the Shiz University's rotating library to the Wizard's inner sanctum in the heart of the Emerald City.
The Munchkinland village set, which opens the film ("No One Mourns the Wicked") was a practical build, constructed in the bucolic town of Ivinghoe. The 9 million tulips leading to Munchkinland, meanwhile, were planted in Norfolk, with planning from local flower farmer Mark Eves and location manager Adam Richards. "I knew it could work because I grew 500 acres of corn on Interstellar,” Crowley said during an interview with Variety. “I knew I could… with the right farmer.”
Part of the Venice-like waterways leading to Shiz University were achieved with a trip to Seven Sisters Country Park in East Sussex. “L. Frank Baum wrote a lot about how Oz was connected by waterways, but we had never seen that,” Chu explains in the production notes. “Water plays such an iconic place in the story of the Wicked Witch. I love that in order to get to school, you take these boats in; we built all that for the film.” The establishing shots from East Sussex were then seamlessly blended with the arrival dock and entrance courtyard on one of the studio backlots.
"This project stands as a testament to the remarkable skill and dedication of our exceptional art, locations, greens, set dressing, and construction teams,” Crowley adds. “It is highly likely that I will never encounter a set of this immense complexity in my career again.”
Wicked Part One is now streaming on Peacock! Wicked: For Good hits theaters November 21, 2025.
