The 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire was quickly adapted into the Broadway musical Wicked: The Untold True Story of the Witches of Oz in June 2003. The musical follows Elphaba and Galinda, two schoolgirls in a magical land of Oz. The audience experiences the girls’ ups and downs as they grow into a truly special friendship and sees their impact on the story of The Wizard of Oz. On November 22, 2024, the witches made it to the big screen in a screenplay adaptation of Wicked, following Act One of the musical. This year, on November 21, the girls’ story comes to an end, with Wicked: For Good, retelling Act Two.
Back in November 2024, the witches were first reintroduced, setting the stage for Wicked: For Good‘s success, with Wicked, Part One, grossing over $750 million globally. The long-awaited film quickly became one of the highest-grossing film adaptations of a Broadway musical, surpassing the 2008 film Mamma Mia!. For the second movie, the cast attended five different premiere celebrations, starting in São Paulo, Brazil, and ending in New York City, New York.
In addition to the classic soundtrack, which includes songs like “No Good Deed” and “For Good,” both Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba Thropp) and Ariana Grande (Glinda Upland) were given additional solo songs in Wicked: For Good. Erivo sang “No Place Like Home” to the animals of Oz, and Grande delivered the emotional “The Girl in the Bubble.” “For Good,” a duet sung by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, was the final tear-jerker that concluded the witches’ story, as Elphaba and Glinda reminisce about their friendship and bid each other goodbye simultaneously. Alongside Grande and Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, who portrays Prince Fiyero in both films, delivers amazing singing through “Dancing Through Life” in Wicked, and “As Long As You’re Mine” in Wicked: For Good.
Many viewers and die-hard fans have criticised the makeup design in Wicked: For Good, specifically the Scarecrow, but they make up for it in other areas. Characters like the Tin Man and Elphaba herself showcase the incredible makeup designs of Frances Hannon, head of the hair and makeup department on the sets of both movies. Some fans also guessed that said characters will earn the film its Oscar for “Best Makeup and Hairstyling.”
While Maguire’s novel version of Wicked has many prequels and sequels to add onto the witches’ story, as of 2025, there will be no more film adaptations to continue the Wicked: For Good story. With the success of the two films, many expected director Jon M. Chu to pick up Son of a Witch, Maguire’s sequel to Wicked, about Elphaba’s son Liir. Nonetheless, all cast and crew came together for these two films to create an amazing, reimagined version of Wicked that pleased both long-time fans and newcomers.
