How does 'Wicked' fit into 'The Wizard of Oz'? The storylines explained

More than 20 years after first premiering on Broadway and nearly 30 since the original book was published, "Wicked" has captured the minds and hearts of the public once more with the release of the new movie adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jeff Goldblum (Wizard of Oz) and Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero).

Loosely based on the original 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" written by L. Frank Baum, "Wicked" tells the background story of the witches we meet in Oz during Dorothy's famous visit. Like other fairytales before it, the original fairytale spawned a whole lot of sequels, spinoffs and re-tellings; In fact, Baum wrote 13 sequels and a few more collections himself from 1904 to 1919, with the final title being published in 1920 posthumously.

Even after his death, plenty of other books, though not considered canonical, were published in relation to or taking inspiration from the original work, including Gregory Maguire's "Wicked." And, "Wicked" was not the first "Wizard of Oz" stage musical, as it was preceded by multiple theater productions including the first musical version of the material "The Wizard of Oz" that ran on Broadway from 1903 to 1904 and "The Wiz," which won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Musical.

This all speaks to the influence of the original work but also makes it confusing to keep up with what is part of which story, which elements come from where and how moviegoers can fit "Wicked" into the context of the the larger canon.

Here's what to know about how "Wicked" fits into the timeline of "The Wizard of Oz."

What is the setting of 'Wicked'?

"Wicked" is a prequel to or, perhaps more accurately, the origin story of prominent characters in "The Wizard of Oz."

The "Wicked" musical is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," which takes place before the events of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and the 1939 film adaptation "The Wizard of Oz."

Set decades before Dorothy Gale lands in Oz, it tells the story of how the original characters G(a)linda the Good (also known as the Good Witch of the South or Good Witch of the North, depending on what adaptation you're consuming) and the Wicked Witch of the West, AKA Elphaba Thropp, became the characters Dorothy and her friends later encounter.

'Wicked' movie: The biggest changes from the Broadway musical and book

In Maguire's original novel, the tale of Dorothy and co. following the Yellow Brick Road does still appear, but at the end of the story. It also gives us a further timeframe of reference, saying the Wizard was in power for roughly 40 years before departing Emerald City, like we see at the end of "The Wizard of Oz."

This is consistent with Act II of the "Wicked" stage musical (and presumably the upcoming part two of the movie) in which we see references to Glinda and Fiyero working for the Wizard approximately 10 years after graduating Shiz University. And we know that, ultimately, the show wraps up with Elphaba encountering Dorothy in a very famous scene.

All of these clues tell us that the timeline of "Wicked" the book and musical starts about forty years before the events of "The Wizard of Oz." While all five pieces of material (the original "Wizard of Oz" book and movie, "Wicked" the novel, "Wicked" the stage musical and "Wicked" the movie) take liberties that differentiate each from the source material and each other, the general setting is the same: "Wicked" is set a handful of decades before "The Wizard of Oz," and the story's purpose is to provide the origin stories of the witches of Oz in their youth.

'Wizard of Oz' references in 'Wicked'

We know that "Wicked" the movie is different in some ways from "Wicked" the stage musical, which is different in many ways from "Wicked" the book, which is only loosely based on the movie "The Wizard of Oz," which is, keep up now, quite different from the book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

That sounds confusing, but it's pretty par for the course as far as adaptations go: what works in one format doesn't always work in another.

Still, the movie, like the stage musical, was sure to throw in some overt references to the original source material. Some help us establish a sense of time and place, others are simply fun to spot.

The most obvious is given to us right as the movie opens when audiences see a title screen reminiscent of the original film and catch a glimpse of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion walking down the Yellow Brick Road.

When Glinda makes her initial entrance, it's in her iconic bubble; during "Popular," Elphaba can be seen holding up a pair of ruby-red slippers; when Elphaba and Glinda visit Emerald City, they help the Wizard choose what color to paint the not-yet-yellow brick road; Elphaba's sister Nessarose receives and wears silver shoes which are accurate to the original color detailed in the book; Elphaba uses a bouquet of poppies to put her classmates to sleep and rescue a lion cub who will later become the Cowardly Lion; and the list goes on.

Keep an eye out and you'll spot even more. The "Wicked" book, musical and movie are only loosely based on the world of Oz laid out by Baum, but they take the setting and run with it in a way audiences have been loving for decades and will continue to love, if opening weekend box office numbers are any indication.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Wicked' in 'The Wizard of Oz': How the storylines fit together