Something odd is happening in Oz. You’ve heard it said that the title of the second half of Jon M. Chu’s blockbuster film, Wicked, would simply be Wicked Part Two, but there’s been a shakeup in the Emerald City. Today, Universal Pictures has announced that they’ll be shifting the basic title and jazzing it up a little bit, rebranding the sequel (or rather, second half of the musical film) to Wicked: For Good. If you were a fan of the musical before the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led movie arrived in cinemas last month, you’ll now have a song stuck in your head as you know that the new title alludes to a song in the second act. If you thought the first act was a tearjerker, grab your tissues because the penultimate tune in the musical is going to shake your entire being – that is, if Stephen Schwartz doesn’t add an extra pizazz to the fan-favorite number.
We aren’t here to ruin the second half of the movie for you, but to be fair the Tony Award-winning musical has been out for more than two decades and someone on TikTok is bound to hit you with spoilers at one point or another. Essentially, when the second half flies into cinemas on November 21, 2025, it will pick up with Elphaba (Erivo) after she defied gravity and zoomed around the Emerald City on her broom at light speed while nailing an incredible vocal run. Audiences will soon find out how beloved characters like the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow came to be in the original The Wizard of Oz film and the rest of Elphaba and Glinda’s loving yet tumultuous friendship will play out.
’Wicked’s Flight To the Top
So far, Wicked is flying sky high (some would even say defying gravity but we already used that reference above) at the global box office, with its worldwide financial gains standing at $524 million at the end of this past weekend. The movie serves as the origin story of two pivotal yet side characters in Victor Fleming’s feature-length adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s novel, The Wizard of Oz. It sheds light on how Glinda the Good (Grande) met Elphaba who would become known as The Wicked Witch of the West at Shiz University, pouring plenty of back story into the development and drive of both characters. With music and lyrics by Godspell, Pippin, and Children of Eden’s Schwartz, the songs are perfectly performed by its two leading ladies.
Wicked is now playing in cinemas.
The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
- Character(s)
- Elphaba Thropp , Glinda Upland , Madame Morrible , The Wizard , Fiyero Tigelaar , Boq , Nessarose Thropp , Pfannee , ShenShen , Miss Coddle , Doctor Dillamond (voice) , Avaric Tenmeadows , Gilligan , Professor Nikidik , Glinda’s Father , Governor Frexspar Thropp , Melena Thropp , The Midwife
- Writers
- Gregory Maguire , Winnie Holzman , Dana Fox , L. Frank Baum
- Studio
- Studio(s)
- Marc Platt Productions