Oscar-nominated “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are ready to close out the musical epic for good. The duo reprise their respective roles of Glinda and Elphaba for Part Two, “Wicked: For Good,” directed by Jon M. Chu. And this time, Oz will have a new visitor: Dorothy (Alisha Weir).
“Wicked: For Good” spans a series of years, beginning with Erivo’s Elphaba AKA the Wicked Witch now being an enemy of the state. Glinda (formerly Galinda) is the spokesperson for Oz thanks to her appointment by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), with her former teacher Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) literally singing her praises. Glinda also just might have a wedding on the horizon to Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, despite him blatantly lusting after Elphaba. This all leads into when Dorothy’s house flies into Oz and the iconic “Wizard of Oz” character walks the yellow brick road.
The 2024 film “Wicked” made history as the highest-grossing movie musical of all time. It went on to land 10 Oscar nominations, and winning for costume and production design. “Wicked” also won the Golden Globe for cinematic and box office achievement.
Director Chu told Vanity Fair that the two parts of “Wicked” will feel like one complete epic film, despite them being released a year apart.
“What’s nice about movie two is it’s so different from movie one that it doesn’t feel like we’re talking about what you just saw. It’s the new chapter,” Chu said, teasing of the plot, “Our heart was broken when Glinda can’t make the choice that we want her to so badly at the end of movie one, and it feels empowering for Elphaba to fly away from society. In movie two, we get to see the consequences of those choices. The temperature is up.”
Chu added, “We want to finish this story in the way that this beautiful memory of ‘Wicked’ can actually come full circle and can be with you for the rest of your life. We want you to look at both movies in the end, and feel like it was one all along.”
Universal will release “Wicked: For Good” in theaters November 21. Check out the trailer below.
