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12 August 2024

LEGO® Wicked: October sets available to pre-order

Posted by Tim Johnson

Wicked, the book that became a hit stage musical that becomes a movie in November 2024, is hitting the shelves on 1 October in the form of four LEGO® sets!

6 lego minidolls of wicked characters: Glinda, Elphaba, The Wizard, Madame Morrible, Fiyero and Nessarose

Available now to pre-order, LEGO® Wicked 75681 Glinda, Elphaba & Nessarose at Shiz University™, 75682 Elphaba & Glinda Figures, 75683 Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory and 75684 Welcome to Emerald City use mini-dolls to bring the colourful, magical universe to life in plastic. Let's take a first look!

This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

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75681 Glinda, Elphaba & Nessarose at Shiz University™

box of set 75681 Glinda, Elphaba & Nessarose at Shiz University

The smallest set in the range is a small boat and simple two-storey structure, but with some impressive detailing for a set aimed at 7 year-olds.  I love the complexity of the upper arch, and the teal-and-light yellow curved elements simply attached sideways to create columns are highly effective.

Element-wise, the azure-decorated white 1x6 tiles and golden boat sails are gorgeous designs that children and many adults will cherish.


rear view of lego wicket set 75681 Glinda, Elphaba & Nessarose at Shiz University

This reverse view reveals the set's accessories are a lectern, a potion stand and Glinda's luggage. The staggered arch on the upper floor is another nice touch.


lego glinda arrives at Shiz University

From the LEGO press release

"The LEGO Wicked Glinda, Elphaba & Nessarose at Shiz University™ set truly is the proudest sight there is. Fans get to accompany Glinda on the sailboat, which features beautiful golden detailing and a pink-shaded hinged sail, on which she first arrives at the most prestigious university in all of Oz. The set features the two-story university building, balconies, study spaces and many thrillifying details. In the building Glinda finds Elphaba and Nessarose, Elphaba's sister."


75682 Elphaba & Glinda Figures

  • Price: US$54.99/ £49.99/ 54.99€/ AU$99.99/ CA$69.99 (Other countries, check here)
  • Ages: 10+
  • Pieces: 558
  • Dimensions: Glinda measures over 5 in. (14 cm) tall; Elphaba measures over 5 in. (13 cm) tall 
  • Release date: 1 October 2024; pre-order available now
box for set 75682 Elphaba & Glinda Figures

The next set is quite a different offering: more a display piece than a playset, but there is certainly going to be a lot of pleasure involved with posing the characters and acting out scenes with them. They look like interesting builds for the size of the set, and use some fascinating elements including new ones.


decorative round lego frame from wicked

The stand is absolutely beautiful, with the pearl gold Technic round beam framing a foil printed with a view of the Emerald City. The large leaf pieces in transparent-green are a new colour for Palm Leaf, Smooth (part 3565). The dark pink flowers are new – but we will return to those in a bit.


lego dolls of wicked characters

The accessories are exquisite, perhaps with the exception of the black hat which is oddly proportioned and sits awkwardly on Elphaba's head. The bottom cone of her dress is the 'Concorde cone' in black – the first recolour of this interesting hollow piece. It looks like both dresses are stickered, which will irritate some of you and please others. 


glinda and elphaba dolls made of lego

The doll-like characters are charming, in that slightly spooky way that dolls are.

We think we are seeing two new moulds used on the dolls: their faces and their hands.

lego wicked set 75682 Elphaba & Glinda Figures displayed on a shelf

The faces resemble Slope Curved 3 x 4 x 2/3 Triple Curved (part 93604) but they don't have the 1x2 cutout on the top, and look to be the height of a brick.

The hands are upscaled minifigure hands: note above how Elphaba's left hand is the same diameter as the reddish brown candle piece used on the broom. The connector to the arm must be a 3.18mm bar. This is a very exciting development; what a useful part!

From the LEGO press release

"Fans can scan a QR code to play along a brick build story to the iconic tune of “Defying Gravity” from the film. The set includes accessories for the two characters with Elphaba’s broom and Glinda’s purse and crown. A buildable base quickly turns this set from an unlimited play experience, into a display model."


75683 Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory


box for set 75683 Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory

This set perhaps looks odd on first glance, but it all makes sense when you realise it's a box that opens out.


the closed box version of set 75683 Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory

And what a cute box. It looks like a cross between a Harry Potter and a Botanical Collection set. The lighter panelling is actually the light nougat colour, meaning those 6x6 tiles are new.


the opened version of set 75683 Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory

The interior is simply bursting with detail. Once again, the decorations of the wallpaper and mirrors are beautifully designed, although they are stickers. Naturally, Glinda occupies as much of the space as possible!

a new lego rose piece in pink and transparent yellow

Of greatest interest to us is a new rose flower piece, seen in dark pink as well as transparent-yellow in the wall-mounted lights. It appears to have a bar connection at the stem, and a stud in the centre of the bud. We're excited to try this one out!


From the LEGO press release

"The LEGO Wicked Glinda & Elphaba’s Dormitory set recreates the pop-u-lar location with a beautifully detailed suitcase which opens up to become the two girls’ dorm room. Fans can be inspired to play out their own stories within Oz by scanning the QR code hidden within the set to play the song “Popular” from the film and make the characters perform the dazzlifying scene, while exploring new adventures."


 75684 Welcome to Emerald City

box for set 75684 Welcome to Emerald City

The iconic Emerald City is resplendent in green and gold in the largest playset in the theme, with a heap of accessories and minifigures.


a child builds 75684 Welcome to Emerald City

2x2 domes (553), 3x6x1 windscreens (62360) and the aforementioned leaf all appear in transparent-green for the first time. 


rear side detail of 75684 Welcome to Emerald City

Iconic scenes are featured inside including Oz's face. Note the bunches of the new rose piece on the left side roof.


From the LEGO press release

"Wicked fans will be able to dance through life into iconic film scenes with sets such as the LEGO Wicked Welcome to Emerald City tower set, which offers a wiz-tastic view of Emerald City and includes five mini-dolls based on the film’s characters: Glinda, Elphaba, The Wizard, Madame Morrible and Fiyero."


History of Wicked

If you're unfamiliar with the source material, Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is a re-interpretation of the original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while also taking elements from the original classic movie. 

I won't spoil any plot details, as it's a pretty interesting reworking. As the title suggests, the central character, called Elphaba, is the villainous green witch of the original. And is the good witch Galinda all she's cracked up to be? The plot explores what makes people "wicked", and touches on adult themes such as exploitation, radicalisation and ultimately the nature of evil itself. 

So how did it make its way from that to the home of a beloved toy brand marketed at children of 7 years?

Well, there's nothing like turning it into a big Broadway musical! Starring Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in 2003, Wicked reduced the complexities of the personalities of the two lead characters, losing much of the grey – or even black – areas of their nuanced, human personalities. 

The themes are certainly still present, but the show is accessible on many layers. With catchy songs and glitzy magic abounding, its unsurprising the musical was a success, winning 3 Tony awards and now Broadway's 4th longest-running show. 

Universal Pictures actually bought the movie rights before the musical, but did not commence work until 2010. A series of delays including the pandemic have meant that it doesn't hit cinemas until 27 November 2024, and that's just part one! The second movie comes out a year later. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande star.

LEGO are focusing squarely on the most populist and child-friendly aspects: the empowering songs, and pink and green (the skin colours of the main characters).

We chose some heartwarming moments from the film, so fans can bring a part of the story home and defy gravity using LEGO bricks.

– Raquel Ojeda Gregorio, LEGO Wicked Design Lead 

Pre-order available now

Set 75681 on LEGO.com
Set 75682 on LEGO.com
Set 75683 on LEGO.com
Set 75684 on LEGO.com


READ MORE: LEGO® Sonic the Hedgehog™: new parts for August 2024

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7 comments:

  1. Nice overview!

    As a longtime fan of both Lego's buildable action figure themes and its mini-doll themes, I've long hoped to see Lego try to combine those two into their own take on buildable large-scale "fashion dolls". So I'm very impressed with the Elphaba and Glinda figures! I would love to see Lego expand that format into other themes like Friends (and as always, wish the Elves theme were still around to make use of them as well).

    The printed face wedges are much like I'd hoped for from those sorts of things, albeit a little squatter than mini-doll faces typically are. The hands look very versatile and I could see those being useful for other sorts of figures as well, in addition to potentially being a good building element in general.

    The dormitory set is fun as well, especially with how it closes up into a model of Glinda's luggage. The new rose piece looks very interesting with useful connection points.

    The Emerald City set looks great as well! Classic trans-green is somewhat rare to get new parts in these days (with trans-bright green being somewhat more common for a lot of things), so the trans-green parts in here are very cool. I could see the palm leaf recolors being useful for the wings of "neo-Insectoids" vehicles! It looks like there are plenty of nice opaque recolors in green and bright green as well. And while it's not a new recolor (appearing in Reddish Brown in the Minecraft Crafting Table set) the first official use of that Minecraft box piece as chair legs is nice as well!

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  2. I'm most excited about the 1x2 trans green tiles.

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    Replies
    1. I have a feeling they are trans bright green sadly. Would be delighted to be proved wrong.

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  3. As much as I love trans-green, the current milky version looks far inferior to the old, to the point that I stopped caring about recolours.

    And are we actually getting a pink staff, or a clear one? Seems like a smidge of good old fake advertising is afoot! :)

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    Replies
    1. I don't think it's fake advertising—all of the set pics, including the box pic, clearly show that it's a clear staff (with the crown on top seeming to be opalescent clear). It's just that one picture of the figs that lights Glinda with pink and Elphaba with green, I imagine mostly for dramatic effect rather than with any intention to deceive.

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    2. Old trans green and new trans green do sit somewhat awkwardly side by side. The milkiness sort of turns the newer pieces slightly glowy towards trans bright green. Certainly not as nice as the old. But I’ll still take new parts… beggars and choosers etc.

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  4. They are beautiful I hope I can get this

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