WickedAuthor Explains the Origins of Shiz University — and What Harry Potter Has to Do With It

Mar. 15, 2025

Shiz University in Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked.'.Photo:Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

The author behind the originalWickedstory is opening about the film’s setting — the magical Shiz University — on the heels the blockbuster movie’s first few record-breaking weeks at the box office.

According to Maguire, Shiz draws lots of inspiration from real-life institutions of higher learning, including Oxford University and the University of Cambridge in England and Harvard University — but decidedly not Hogwarts ofHarry Potterfame.

“With all due respect to my colleagues in the UK …Wickedwas published in 1995, before the first description ofHarry Potter’s Hogwarts was published two years later in 1997,” Maguire told the outlet.

“Some fans ofWickedhave guessed that Hogwarts inspired Shiz, but chronology doesn’t support that thesis. Philip Pullman’s alternate-reality Oxford inThe Golden Compasswas published about two months beforeWicked, and Shiz seems to me as much like Pullman’s institution of higher learning as anyplace else.”

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in ‘Wicked.'.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

“For the seriously rabid fans, I point out that in Ursula K. Le Guin’s well-regarded novel,A Wizard of Earthsea, the protagonist, Ged, attends a school for mages (magicians) on the island of Roke,” the author continued.

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The fictional city and college also took heavy inspiration from Chicago, specifically during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, as scholars believe that’s where Baum got many of his ideas.

Marissa Bode as ‘Nessarose’ and Cynthia Erivo as ‘Elphaba.'.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Some of the novels that inspired Maguire weren’t magical at all, but instead works that told tales of grandiose real-life educational institutions, including Virginia Woolf’sA Room of One’s Ownand E.M. Forster’sMaurice.

“As with most of my descriptions of places inWicked,” he said. “I wanted the portrait of Shiz to be familiar enough to be welcoming to my readers, but distinct enough to be recognizable on its own merits.”

According to production designer Crowley, the film adaptation was able to take the world-building to another level, incorporating small details that make the magical college feel not only functional, but complete.

“This project stands as a testament to the remarkable skill and dedication of our exceptional art, locations, greens, set dressing and construction teams,” he states in the production notes, per NBC. “It is highly likely that I will never encounter a set of this immense complexity in my career again.”

Wickedis in theaters now.

source: people.com