Epic Universe Expansion Speculation

[HHN Maddux]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

 

[RFRees]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

That's exciting news! Hopefully Creative is somewhat far along rather than just starting this week. I'd imagine they had several Wicked concepts, from small projects to large scale. But this greenlight allows them to choose the most "epic" version of what they've been cooking up.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

I love IAAPA week. So many people love talking IRL.

 

[AustinT]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

If true, this almost guarantees it goes into Epic. No size constraints, and much more freedom. But that may also mean it's many years away at this point unless they are willing to have several large expansions in the works at the same time.

But this greenlight allows them to choose the most "epic" version of what they've been cooking up.

Indeed. Seems like you may be getting your wish of it taking that Epic plot

Now I'm wondering about that person's suggestion of connecting the land to a future land and the future neighboring park...Big enough of an IP to split between two parks? They could always go the Hogsmeade train route and eventually have that Emerald City train connecting parks to sell their beloved park hopper tickets.

 

[illumination]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

That’s incredible! Thanks for sharing. I think this has the potential to be just as big of a draw as the Harry Potter, avatar, and Star Wars lands in Orlando if they go big enough with it.

 

[soilsigh]

I don’t think that would work in Florida due to the water table? But also, the tunnel system in Vegas is a huge flop. Slow, low capacity, riddled with issues that has kept it from expanding. Other systems in Vegas such as the monorail have higher use, more stops, and actually generate money. Here’s a video with all the detail:

Been covering the loop for a while initiallly I estimated the loop was doing 240/hour then i saw the video a while back its not even half. The current EV Bus system gets 600 ppl/hour in each direction at peak. So total capacity downgrade with a huge price tag. I am planning to go in options for this at some point but personally I have a sense the answer is obviously and they may have future proofed Kirkman when they built it

wow, thank you for sharing. Yeah with those numbers doesn't make it worth it at all. Had no idea. I used the loop while in Vegas seemed busy and it was a cool concept, and with further expansion to the other hotels thought it would be successful. But the numbers clearly counter that assumption.

 

[queenmetroid]

I still think you run a slight risk of the unfamiliar-with-WICKED crowd being confused why the Wicked Witch is now a good guy (gal).

Just to offer an alternate perspective: I go to the parks. I am not familiar with the Wicked movies or the musical. I have no idea what the story is. I know the Wizard of Oz movie and that's it. I don't know how many of us there are, but we do exist.

And I get that. I don’t think everyone who goes to Universal even knows Potter that well (my first trip to UOR I had never seen the films before, no joke), my point more is that it’s clearly popular and not niche, so I don’t want them to temper the land to appeal to people who’ve only seen the Wizard of Oz. There’s a lot more with a theme park ride story that they could gather from the Wicked films including the remarkable score.

I don't see Universal tempering the land in the slightest. Battle of the Ministry is almost completely inaccessible to anyone who hasn't seen Harry Potter. As a casual Potter fan (at best), I enjoyed the ride, but there's no question that it's fast-paced and would be incredibly confusing to someone without the knowledge of Dolores Umbridge, the Death Eaters, Time Turners, or the Ministry of Magic. You absolutely need a baseline level of franchise knowledge to understand the ride (especially in a franchise where the line between good and evil is pretty muddy).

Both Universal and Disney have proven that for a large franchise, they are willing to assume you know the story.

 

[belloq87]

I think that's a good point, but the only distinction I would make there is that, with an IP like Potter, in that example, there is only one visual interpretation of it (for now). Most guests will immediately know whether or not they "get" Harry Potter based on their knowledge of the movies.

With something based on Oz, there's a much more varied cinematic history, ranging from one of the greatest films of all time (THE WIZARD OF OZ), to the more offbeat takes (THE WIZ, RETURN TO OZ), and now the current blockbusters (WICKED). A guest might say they're a fan of "Oz," but only through one of those specific interpretations.

I don't think it's an impossible needle to thread to make a land based on WICKED that is able to bring people up to speed/acclimate them if their conception of Oz is not via WICKED, and I also don't think that would require watering anything down.

 

[RFRees]

With something based on Oz, there's a much more varied cinematic history, ranging from one of the greatest films of all time (THE WIZARD OF OZ), to the more offbeat takes (THE WIZ, RETURN TO OZ), and now the current blockbusters (WICKED). A guest might say they're a fan of "Oz," but only through one of those specific interpretations.

Poor Oz The Great and Powerful gets snubbed again.

If true, this almost guarantees it goes into Epic. No size
Indeed. Seems like you may be getting your wish of it taking that Epic plot

Important to note that this is not what I want to happen, but this is what makes the most (business) sense IMO.

But that may also mean it's many years away at this point unless they are willing to have several large expansions in the works at the same time.

The only thing holding Universal back from building a new world + attractions at Epic, along with other projects at USF/IOA, would be if they got cold feet.

Their ability to build an entire theme park and add smaller projects to their sister sites along the way demonstrates they at least have the bandwidth capable of juggling all these projects.

 

[illumination]

More about how strong Wicked is as a brand regarding merchandise sales—it has the most ever brand deals in Hollywood history!
Safe to say a wicked land will not only be great as far as immersive environment and thrilling rides, it will also continue to sell merch just like Harry Potter. Even for the few that don’t love Wicked; the money generated will enable Universal to make incredible future projects to everyone’s benefit.

“The final reason for the success of “Wicked” is a bewitching advertising campaign. At a time when films seem to have fading cultural relevance, Universal’s marketing department made this one inescapable. The studio partnered with more than 400 brands to peddle everything from pink and green Le Creuset cookware (the set is $900) to pink and green laundry detergent and pink and green macaroni cheese. Fans can visit Greggs, a bakery chain, and “follow the yellow bake road” to buy a limited-edition coffee cup.
It points to Hollywood’s cosy relationship with brands. Blockbuster movies have long entered into these kinds of partnerships—franchises from James Bond to Barbie have sought product-placement deals and licensing agreements—but “Wicked” has taken it further than most. Promotions for the first movie generated more than $330m of “media value”, a gauge of the monetary benefit of brand deals, reportedly the most ever for a Hollywood film.”

Source: https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/11/24/the-gravity-defying-success-of-wicked

 

[RFRees]

More about how strong Wicked is as a brand regarding merchandise sales—it has the most ever brand deals in Hollywood history!
Safe to say a wicked land will not only be great as far as immersive environment and thrilling rides, it will also continue to sell merch just like Harry Potter. Even for the few that don’t love Wicked; the money generated will enable Universal to make incredible future projects to everyone’s benefit.

“The final reason for the success of “Wicked” is a bewitching advertising campaign. At a time when films seem to have fading cultural relevance, Universal’s marketing department made this one inescapable. The studio partnered with more than 400 brands to peddle everything from pink and green Le Creuset cookware (the set is $900) to pink and green laundry detergent and pink and green macaroni cheese. Fans can visit Greggs, a bakery chain, and “follow the yellow bake road” to buy a limited-edition coffee cup.
It points to Hollywood’s cosy relationship with brands. Blockbuster movies have long entered into these kinds of partnerships—franchises from James Bond to Barbie have sought product-placement deals and licensing agreements—but “Wicked” has taken it further than most. Promotions for the first movie generated more than $330m of “media value”, a gauge of the monetary benefit of brand deals, reportedly the most ever for a Hollywood film.”

Source: https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/11/24/the-gravity-defying-success-of-wicked

Unfortunately the article is pay-walled, but interesting that they focused on merch adults would buy (e.g. cookware, laundry detergent, and coffee cups).

 

[belloq87]

Poor Oz The Great and Powerful gets snubbed again.

Even being the gigantic Sam Raimi fan that I am, I can't muster up much of a defense for this one! (It's fine.)

RETURN TO OZ, now that's a movie!

 

[illumination]

Unfortunately the article is pay-walled, but interesting that they focused on merch adults would buy (e.g. cookware, laundry detergent, and coffee cups).

Go to RemovePaywall | Free online paywall remover and once there, paste the link to the article and it will generate a few buttons you can click to read the article! Just a tip because I also get annoyed by paywall articles.

 

[Clive]

I love IAAPA week. So many people love talking IRL.

If you want to hear some dirt and juicy rumors, go to any mixer about an hour after the bar opens...

 

[Stitch_101]

Unfortunately the article is pay-walled, but interesting that they focused on merch adults would buy (e.g. cookware, laundry detergent, and coffee cups).

I mean, it makes sense they are going after the older crowd. The Wicked musical is immensely popular with older musical theater fans and is based on a bestselling book series that is very much an adult oriented take on OZ. It's easy to see OZ as a family product, and sure Universal leaned into that with the movies. But the Wicked franchise began as adult entertainment, so tapping into the older crowd seems like a no brainer. That's not even touching on the timelessness of the original film and how nostalgic baby boomers are for it. My husbands parent's still collect Wizard Of Oz merch to this day.

 

[Legacy]

Screamscape is reporting that Creative has been given the directive to give Wicked the Harry Potter treatment, i.e. freedom to create whatever, wherever.

*chants*

Trial of Dorothy Gale!
Trial of Dorothy Gale!
Trial of Dorothy Gale!

*starts screaming as I’m dragged away by security*

TRIAL OF DOROTHY GALE!!

 

[fryoj]

Hi I don't write much here, mostly just read. Just wanted to ask the feasibility of this idea I had. I have been reading about the rumors of Universal listening to proposals from the Boring Company. It seems tunnels similar to the Las Vegas loop could be a possibility to connect the two campuses. I don't know if anyone with this same intel had thoughts of warp pipes with Nintendo themed teslas pop in their heads like me. I know the expansion pad between the park entrance and Nintendo has been earmarked for an events building. Just seems like a prime spot, narratively speaking (don't know if it's developmentally sound) for the entrance of a warp pipe to connect to the other campus. It is close to the bus routes? Not saying this event space has anything to do with Boring but do you think it's remotely possible that the event space could be converted or changed for this use in the future.

"IF" this were to happen, to me at least, it would be to connect the transportation centers, maybe some hotels, and make a dedicated electric bus loop. That would improve capacity of the loop, take buses off the roads, and reduce travel times between the parks.

That being said, I'd assume the cost would be completely impractical to make this more than blue sky.

 

[HHN Maddux]

*chants*

Trial of Dorothy Gale!
Trial of Dorothy Gale!
Trial of Dorothy Gale!

*starts screaming as I’m dragged away by security*

TRIAL OF DOROTHY GALE!!

Alert, Death Eaters the Wicked Witch has attacked the Ministry Tower, Dolores Umbridge Dorothy Gale has escaped!