‘Wicked’ is the latest film to hide ‘Part One’ from the title

As millions around the world flock to theaters to watch Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway musical “Evil” later this month, they’ll see something on the title card that can’t be found anywhere in Universal’s free marketing campaign: “Part I.”

The adaptation was split into two films shot simultaneously, but “Wicked” is the latest two-parter to downplay its open-ended nature in the marketing build-up to the film’s release. Movies like “Dune,” “Fast X” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” hid their cliffhanger endings away from trailers and promotional material. And while some audiences might have been surprised when the credits rolled, each film was a box office hit.