Wicked: What Christians should know about 2024’s biggest film

Martin Saunders considers the spiritual messages contained in Wicked: Part One

Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? No – this isn’t an article about the doctrine of original sin, although we’ll certainly touch on it; this is the first significant line in the cinematic adaption of Broadway musical Wicked, which swept the world like a witch’s broom at the very end of 2024. It encapsulates the key question addressed by both movie and musical: whether evil comes from inside or outside a person. It’s a concept that Christians today – and throughout history – have had a fair bit to say on.