Wicked: For Good, the second movie in the Wicked franchise, debuted Nov. 21, 2025. The two movies were inspired by the hit Broadway musical Wicked and the movie The Wizard of Oz. With captivating emotion and excellent detail, Wicked: For Good will delight viewers; however, it does stray from the original musical.
Wicked: For Good follows the challenges Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), and Glinda, the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) face during their fight against the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). With his evil reign still surrounding Oz, no one will truly be safe.
The first Wicked movie is about Elphaba learning the reality behind the Wizard and what his true intentions are for all the animals in Oz. He plans to eliminate animals’ voices and turn them into villains in their own home. Elphaba fights the Wizard with everything she has and swears to never work with him. In response, the Wizard and his accomplice, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), paint Elphaba as the villain and pit the Ozians against her. The first Wicked movie ends with Elphaba realizing the depths of her true power and embracing her new title of Wicked Witch of the West.
The two-hour-long movie, Wicked: For Good, begins with Elphaba freeing the mistreated animals that are being forced to build the yellow brick road, showing viewers her true intentions, instead of the evil image that the Wizard has created of her. During this opening scene, the audience sees the truth behind the supposedly perfect Oz, which is actually a truly broken place that doesn’t care about fairness or equality. The movie chose to include many issues present in the 21st century, especially how many people are treated poorly and face injustices because of who they are. The producers and directors did a great job highlighting these injustices through an engaging script that kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
Madame Morrible has created a fake image of Glinda, giving her unreal powers, a giant fan base that idolizes her, and even planning her engagement to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) the captain of the royal guards in Oz. Although Fiyero isn’t too happy about the situation and still has feelings for Elphaba, he still makes sure that Glinda feels loved. Fiyero does a great job showing his care for Glinda, even if he doesn’t feel romantically in love with her. Much like Fiyero, Glinda displays her love through her character’s selfless acts and accepting that Fiyero isn’t romantically in love with her. Throughout the entire movie, viewers can see the cast’s dedication to their characters and their involvement in the movie.
When Elphaba suddenly comes to visit her sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), there are heated words exchanged between them, and when Nessa tries to curse her unrequited love, Boq (Ethan Slater), into loving her, she accidentally turns him into the Tin Man with the help of Elphaba’s spell book. When Boq finds out, he is furious, and Nessa blames the whole thing on Elphaba, adding to her narrative of being a villain. This scene adds to a common theme in the movie of longing, and the pain accompanies it. When there’s pain involved, it can lead to harsh consequences and, in this case, curses.
In the second part of the movie, the audience finally sees the connection between The Wizard of Oz and Wicked. This crossover starts to become more of a reinterpretation of the original movie. Through Wicked: For Good, backstories behind all of Dorothy’s companions (Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and the Scarecrow) reveal themselves, and viewers really get to know them on a personal level. In doing this, the producers reimagined the characters and added tenderness as well as humanizing them. Wicked: For Good’s addition of Dorothy and her companions adds new ideas to the original story about the origin, and that all is not what it seems. Mirroring the ending of The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West disappears, and peace is returned to Oz; however, the movie doesn’t end without raising some new ideas about how the Wicked Witch was more than what she was made out to be.
Throughout Wicked: For Good, spectators see incredible set designs as well as dazzling costumes. The sets transport viewers into the world of Wicked, leaving them amazed with the detail, like the thousands of real tulips and the green glimmer of the Emerald City. Costumes were also incredible, with intricate details like the pink and green accents in Glinda’s dresses and all the design elements that added dimension to Elphaba’s monotone outfits.
With live singing from both actresses and intricate details that tie in moments from the Broadway musical, director Jon M. Chu brings Wicked to life. The songs and acting were remarkable, featuring tracks from the musical as well as original songs from the movie, such as “No Place Like Home,” sung by Cynthia Erivo, and “The Girl in the Bubble,” sung by Ariana Grande. Although they included most of the songs from the musical, they did have to cut a few because of some actors’ inability to sing. But for what the actors couldn’t sing, they made up for in dialogue. The chemistry between Elphaba and Fiyero and the emotion from Glinda were truly amazing, and they added another deep dimension to the movie.
Wicked: For Good is full of unexpected twists with a gripping and heart-warming storyline of best friends and betrayal. All of the costumes and set designs were wonderful and enriched the movie’s visual landscape. The dialogue was meaningful but had funny and light aspects. The singing was deeply emotional and really captured the audience and had viewers in awe. Overall, the movie was an enjoyable watch that kept you engaged the entire time. Wicked: For Good earns a feather score of four out of five feathers.
