Director Jon M. Chu of Wicked and Wicked: For Good teases that the full cast of the highly anticipated sequel has not yet been revealed. Hitting theaters on November 21, Wicked: For Good will finish the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Ariana Grande) the Good, whose friendship is tested as the story of The Wizard of Oz takes shape.
Wicked: For Good‘s teasers hint at major Wizard of Oz moments, including Glinda meeting Dorothy and the origins of both the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. However, it has also been confirmed that Dorothy will be obfuscated in Wicked: For Good, keeping the focus on the backstories of the Ozian characters who surround her in the source material.
One of these figures who has not been talked about as much is the Cowardly Lion, but Chu teased in an interview with Deadline that the Lion is actually voiced by a major actor. Chu said: “Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild.“
Chu shared that he directly messaged this actor on Instagram, emphasizing that it was a small role, but the star responded enthusiastically: “I was like, ‘It’s not a ton of lines, but maybe you have a little time. I know you’re busy. I’ll come to you.’ He was like, ‘Why the f–k not, let’s go!’ And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.“
Mild potential spoilers for Wicked: For Good ahead.
The Cowardly Lion’s origin story in Wicked has already mostly been revealed to audiences who only saw the movie and are not familiar with the show. In 2024’s Wicked, Elphaba and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) rescue an imprisoned lion club from a cruel new teacher at Shiz University, who was installed there by the current regime to espouse anti-animal propaganda to the students.
Elphaba and Fiyero seemingly release the cub into the wild, and in the second act of Wicked the Broadway musical, with Wicked: For Good presumably retaining this plot point, it is confirmed that he did grow up to become the Cowardly Lion. Public sentiment against Elphaba is so out of control at this point that she is blamed for his cowardice, for not letting him “fight his own battles” as a cub.
Wicked: For Good does, to some extent, seem to be following Dorothy’s journey to the Emerald City more than the stage production. But given Dorothy’s limited presence and the Cowardly Lion not being as connected to Elphaba and Glinda’s storylines, it makes sense that it would be a very small role. However, Wicked has attracted major stars to fill every role, no matter how minimal.
The Cowardly Lion is an interesting story beat to further explore, as it illustrates how ridiculous the ire directed at Elphaba really is, when she can do an objectively good thing and still have it turned against her. This is also in the context of the Wizard’s (Jeff Goldblum) campaign against talking animals, which most of the population is going along with — yet they still decry Elphaba “hurting” the Lion.
It is a massive challenge for Wicked: For Good to delve into all the implications of the Cowardly Lion’s character within the story’s established conflict, and the movie might simply not have the time to do everything. But a major actor still thought the role was worth his time, and will hopefully do something memorable with it.
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Director
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Jon M. Chu
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire