Will ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator 2’ be this year’s ‘Barbenheimer’? The internet weighs in

If you were hanging around with any theater kids/adults yesterday, you undoubtedly heard the news, likely screamed, that the release date for Jon M. Chu and Universal’s Wicked: Part 1 has been bumped up five days from its initial date of November 27, 2024. 

Wicked's release date jumps forward

What that means, besides the sound of “Defying Gravity” being screlted on every street corner in America five days earlier, is that Wicked: Part 1 now shares a release date with Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated Gladiator sequel, starring Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal (it’s a ‘scal-a-palooza!).

The matchup now has many speculating if the shared release date means that we’ve got our next “Barbenheimer,” 2023’s cinema-going bonanza featuring pink outfits, old-timey hats and everyone’s favorite, atoms!

Will Gladiator 2 and Wicked lead to Barbenheimer 2.0?

Now that both movies will be released on November 22nd, the pairing already has the internet abuzz with anticipation for another seven-hour trip to the cineplex. 

However, some argue that “Barbenheimer” was a true once-in-a-generation experience and we can’t force it to be replicated just because two release dates match up. 

Either way, time will tell if “Wickiator” becomes a thing. I’ll be wicked glad if it does.

The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.