To have and to Wicked, For Good and for worse (CREDIT: Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures)
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Sharon D. Clarke, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Colman Domingo
Director: Jon M. Chu
Running Time: 137 Minutes
Rating: PG for Steamy Sensuality and Broom Fights
Release Date: November 21, 2025 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Oz is of course a wonderful and magical place, but it isn’t always filled with honesty. That is what Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) is desperately trying to tell us at the beginning of Wicked: For Good. Now that she knows the dark truth about what the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are up to, she’s gone off into hiding into the woods as she plots to lift the curtain and free the animals. Meanwhile, Glinda (Ariana Grande) is taking a much less revolutionary approach as an official representative of Oz, though she still holds out hope that she and Elphaba can reconcile. On top of all that, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is caught in the middle between these witchy ladies, Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is now governor of Munchkinland, her Munchkin friend Boq (Ethan Slater) is bristling at his position working for her, and a certain visitor from the Midwestern United States is about to get dumped into the middle of all this finagling.
What Made an Impression?: Another Way of Looking at Things: It’s a simple realization, but worth drawing out: the whole endeavor of Wicked on the big screen is a matter of shifting perspectives. Indeed, that was already true about this franchise when it previously existed in just book form and then as a stage musical examining a decades-old and oft-revisited property from exciting new angles. As someone who’s never read Gregory Maguire’s novel (or any of its sequels) or ever seen the show, I’m only catching a whiff of the panorama expansion that these big screen adaptations have established. But even that lack of perspective is another perspective! So I understand your frustration, Elphaba, when everyone else is unable or unwilling to see the bigger picture. And you too can have that realization! All you have to do is open your eyes to how much your eyes remain closed.
We’ve Made Mistakes, Now What Do We Do?: Everything comes home to roost in this conclusive chapter, which is how things tend to go in conclusive chapters, after all. In this case that means we see a much more dour Wizard, a warier dynamic between friends and former friends, and a thoroughly less whimsical populace. That equals a significantly less fun outing compared to the first Wicked movie, though the upside is that the psychological depths are more acutely felt and impossible to miss. There’s a sense of inevitability that at times can come off as deflating but that also feels honest and necessary. Now’s not the time to soar but to carve out a compromise you can live with in an imperfect world. Is that a formula for keeping the fire of cinematic magic fully aflame? I have mixed thoughts on that matter, but the final warnings we’re left to reckon with nevertheless remain timeless.
Wicked: For Good is Recommended If You Like: Filling in the edges
Grade: 3 out of 5 Bubbles
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