Wickana is no more, if it ever was a thing | Pop Recap #6

Happy Sunday to my fellow fans of pop culture! A little late edition of the newsletter because of the holiday but we are back with the latest happenings in entertainment. I hope you all had an amazing Fourth of July weekend. Let’s take a look at this week’s trending topics.

• Wickana is no more, if it ever was a thing. Wicked will now be released on November 22 instead of November 27, which means the Oz musical and Disney’s Moana 2 will no longer be released on the same day. But fans awaiting a Barbenheimer 2.0 with the two films have quickly shifted from their Wickana mindset. Wicked’s new release date coincides with the release of Gladiator II, so now they’re trying to make WICKEDIATOR happen. Only time will tell if the films will make an iconic double header like the Barbie x Oppenheimer moment of 2023.

• The Glastonbury Festival took place in England, with Dua Lipa, Coldplay, SZA and Shania Twain as headliners. Here’s what you need to know: Michael J. Fox played guitar with Coldplay during their set, the British weren’t really fond of SZA’s performance, which suffered sound issues (what a shame!) and Louis Tomlinson snuck in a flat screen television to watch England’s Euro match.

• Six Flags and Cedar Fair have finalized their $8 billion merge. Check out their official combined park map, which consists of 27 theme parks, 15 water parks and 9 resorts across North America. 

• Olivia Rodrigo has announced a collaboration with Stanley, featuring a limited edition tumbler dropping July 9. 

• Kendrick Lamar released his music video for “Not Like Us,” and it’s full of easter eggs. 

Now, let’s get into some more pop culture headlines from this week!!!!

• Molly Shannon has joined the cast of “Balls Up,” an Amazon MGM action comedy starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser. 

• Chloe Fineman, Nicole Byer, Charlie Day, Paula Pell, Alex Moffat, Paula Pell, Liza Koshy and more are set to star in Hulu comedy “Summer of 69.”

• “Beetlejuice 2” is set to open this year’s Venice Film Festival August 28, ahead of its September 6 U.S. release.

• “Now You See Me 3” has been set to release November 14, 2025.

• Donald Glover has released the trailer for his new movie Bando Stone & the New World.

• New this week:  Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Netflix), Despicable Me 4 (Theaters) 

• A Beautiful Noise played its final show on Broadway on June 30.

• Merrily We Roll Along played its final show on Broadway on July 7.

• A performance of Suffs was interrupted by protesters who held up banners over their box seats, calling the show “a white wash.” The protesters claim Suffs is not a fair representation of the women's suffrage movement. 

• Aladdin, celebrating ten years on Broadway, and Moulin Rouge!, celebrating five years on Broadway, have unveiled commemorative playbills. 

• Nine-time Tony nominee Bartlett Sher will direct the previously announced Dolly Parton musical Hello, I’m Dolly for Broadway.

• Boys World has announced their disbandment. The girl group had been active since 2019.

• JoJo Siwa has announced her EP Guilty Pleasure, set to release on July 12.

• Jade Thirwall has announced her new single “Angel of My Dreams,” set to release on July 19. 

• Zach Herron has announced his first solo single “caroline,” set to release on July 26. 

• Khalid has announced his new album SINCERE, set to release on August 2. 

• Logic revealed the tracklist for his Ultra 85 album, releasing August 9.

• Season 21 of “The Bachelorette” premieres tonight on ABC.

• The BET Awards aired last Sunday. Check out the full winners list here.

• Natasha Rothwell’s comedy series “How To Die Alone” has been set to release September 13 on Hulu.

• Julianne Moore, Milly Alcok and Meghann Fahy have been cast in “Sirens,” a new limited series at Netflix. 

• The trailer for Cobra Kai Season 6 Part 1 has been released by Netflix.

Last week on the Fan Fave podcast, I talked all about Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” Listen now and make sure to stay connected with the Fan Fave community on social media. The Fan Fave podcast releases weekly on Tuesdays.

xx Katrina