While 2024’s “Wicked” was undeniably popular, its upcoming sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” is destined to have more magical enchantment and musical mastery for us to enjoy. If you need to be reminded of what happened in “Wicked” before the follow-up hits theaters, check out Looper’s video covering the ins and outs of the first installment.
The film, based on the long-running Broadway musical of the same name, itself adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, follows ambitious student Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande) and green girl Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) at Shiz University. While Galinda, who later shortens her name to Glinda, and Elphaba are sworn enemies at first, they later become fast friends and journey to Emerald City to meet the mysterious Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). “Wicked: For Good” will cover the musical’s second act in which Elphaba and Galinda proclaim their respective titles of the “Wicked Witch of the West” and “Glinda the Good.”
Not only did “Wicked” blow everyone away at the box office, with over $750 million in ticket sales worldwide according to Box Office Mojo, it was also nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won two for Production and Costume Design. The film also received largely glowing reception, including a positive review from Looper’s critic and a fantastic 88% fresh critics’ rating and 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Glinda and Elphaba will see all new challenges in Wicked: For Good
In “Wicked: For Good,” a now-vilified Elphaba continues her attempts to open Oz’s eyes to the truth of the Wizard’s corruption. Meanwhile, Glinda’s star continues to rise as the pretty and popular Good Witch, even as she meets with Elphaba in secret and tries to broker peace between her and the Wizard.
The cast will include many familiar faces. Besides Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, and Bronwyn Hames will all reprise their roles. But there will be newcomers too. In particular, Kansas farm girl Dorothy will be transported to Oz and make trouble for Elphaba. In fact, per Deadline, Dorothy’s role in the film will be more prominent compared to the musical.
In addition, according to Steven Schwartz, the composer and lyricist of both the musical and movie, “For Good” will contain two completely new songs along with some of the existing numbers getting additional material, stating this is all “to meet the demands of the storytelling.” Hopefully, these alterations will change you for good when “Wicked: For Good” releases on November 21, 2025. In the meantime, take a look at the video above for a recap of everything that happened in the first “Wicked.”