If there were any doubters out there, Wicked proved that audiences are very into learning how the Wicked Witch of the West came to be. To the tune of $756M worldwide and two Academy Award wins, the film set a high bar that the sequel, Wicked: For Good, hopes to match when it arrives in just a few months.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande helped usher in a cultural phenomenon with their performances as Elphaba and Glinda. They return to their roles at a point when the characters, formerly best friends, have split and are now closer to how we recognize them in The Wizard of Oz. However, things aren’t as simple as one witch being good and the other evil.
Jon M. Chu returns as director, along with screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, adapting the Broadway musical. The impressive ensemble returns, as well, withJeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Marissa Bode.
SYNOPSIS: Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba must come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they must truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, to change themselves and all of Oz for good.
Universal Pictures releases Wicked: For Good in theaters on November 21st.
