The next Barbenheimer is coming, and it’s called Wicking Man
November 21, 2025 is about to be a perfect day in history for me. Why? Wicked: Part Two and Edgar Wright’s The Running Man are coming out on the same day. These are the things I wished for as a child.
I’m kidding. I did not know we were going to be REALLY into movies coming out on the same day as a kid. But it is fun to think about making double features out of two contrasting movies much like we did with Barbie and Oppenheimer. This year, we have two separate “double feature” days to attend. Glicked is this weekend with Gladiator II and Wicked: Part One coming out on the same day. And then on Christmas Day, we have NosferatuGirl. Aka, Nosferatu and Babygirl coming out at the same time.
With “The Wicking Man,” I’m just excited because they are yet again two projects I’m incredibly excited about. What worked with Barbenheimer was the bright pink contrasted with the dark colors of Oppenheimer and look, I think the greens and pinks of Wicked paired with a story about a man running in a game show to SAVE HIS LIFE is going to be epic.
As of this moment, both films are set for that November release. I just hope that you can hear “As Long As You’re Mine” from Wicked: Part Two right as Lee Pace is trying to kill Glen Powell. That’s my hope.
A lot of people scoff at the idea of making Barbenheimer 2.0. I don’t think that’s what these trends are doing. It is more about celebrating cinema and if this gets people out of their homes and into theaters, we can’t really fault the excitement of it. Maybe this is how we start to save movie theaters.
I honestly love these double feature moments
For each new double feature, you have a challenge presented for you. Which movie do you watch first? For Barbenheimer, so many people foolishly thought that Barbie after Oppenheimer was a nice palate cleanser and then left sobbing. But then again, both those movies are emotionally damaging. With Glicked, it is either watching Paul Mescal fight for his life or watching Elphaba…fight for her life. Again, both emotional!
I think we’re going to run into the same dilemma with The Wicking Man. (I’m going to make that stick and I WILL be taking credit for it when the time comes.) One the one hand, I know how both of these stories end. But I also know that “No Good Deed,” “For Good,” and “As Long As You’re Mine” leave me both broken and wanting to fall in love. So maybe I need to then see Glen Powell running around to help fix me.
The point is: This is a fun way of going to the movies. You can make it a whole thing, go with friends, and spend time at the cinema! We should be celebrating the fact that we do this stuff now because hey, if it keeps movies alive, I’m all for it.
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