Concluding the Wicked saga, Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good adapts the latter half of the Broadway musical, showcasing the fallout of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) rebelling against the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) after he is revealed as a fraud and an oppressor of the Animals. This leads to the events of The Wizard of Oz, which occur concurrently with For Good.
In addition to Erivo and Goldblum, For Good also stars Ariana Grande as Glinda, with whom Elphaba shares a unique bond. However, an ideological divide saw Glinda choosing not to stand with Elphaba and ultimately becoming a pawn of the Wizard at the end of Wicked.
“There’s no victory at the end of the first film in that sense,” said producer Marc Platt, who also produced the stage musical on which the film is based. “There’s a shattering. The only victory is that Elphaba is, makes peace with herself. She sees her reflection, and knows ‘I have to do this, I have to speak truth to power, and I have to do the right thing.‘”
Due to Elphaba’s choices, Platt explained that in “the second film, the world is different.” He continued: “Now [there are] real consequences to the choices that both girls made in the first film. Elphaba to become this fugitive, and Glinda to become the face of the wizard and Madame Morrible.”
Platt continued by noting that Elphaba and Glinda “each have to wrestle with those consequences” and “the world is darker.” In order to emphasize Elphaba’s isolation and sacrifice, the filmmakers allowed “the world to feel dark and ominous.”
“You have to give over to that, […] to have Elphaba be lonely, and feel betrayed, and to let Glinda have to wrestle with, ‘I’m really happy, or I’m not happy, or maybe there are bridges that I crossed that I didn’t even know I’d crossed. And maybe I’m not comfortable with that,'” said Platt. “So they are a compliment to each other in evolution, but they’re very different films. And each stands really on its own, separately, but when you do get to see them all together, it’s quite something.“
Chu also discussed how Elphaba’s choice impacted the relationship between her and Glinda. He explained: “When you realize, ‘oh standing up, that’s a lot… that’s a lot more lonely.’ You don’t have a lot of friends, there are a lot more whispers.“
Despite their previously strong bond, the duo are at odds for much of For Good, something that propels the plot forward and impacts the story portrayed in The Wizard of Oz as well. Wicked: For Good releases in theaters on November 21, 2025.
Wicked: For Good
8/10
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Director
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Jon M. Chu
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire