Since the decision was made to split Wicked into two films, “The first half of the stage musical is the better half” has been a frequent concern about Wicked: For Good. After all of that fretting, I’m here to say that… Yeah, that worry was pretty dead-on. In the end, among several missteps, it’s up to the lead duo of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to keep the audience invested. Fortunately, that’s a task they are well-suited for.
Picking up after a strangely nebulous time jump – at first it seems like just a few months, but then some changes in the characters’ lives insinuate it’s been many years – the sequel finds Elphaba (Erivo) firmly established to the public as the fiendish boogeyman of Oz, a.k.a. The Wicked Witch. And while her friend, Glinda (Ariana Grande), knows the terrible things said about Elphaba aren’t true, she is simultaneously keeping up appearances as the protective Good Witch of Oz, even if her lack of actual magical abilities means it’s all achieved through trickery.
Wicked: For Good often has a very haphazard feeling to it. Underlining that a film’s length and its pacing are not automatically intertwined, For Good drags far more than the first movie at times, despite being about a half hour shorter. With the characters much more spread out, no longer tied to the first movie’s university setting, there’s a lot more jumping around to catch up with everyone, and some sequences work far better than others. It is amusing to see Elphaba evoking Batman with a broomstick as she makes some vigilante-style appearances early on, and there are funny moments involving Glinda’s fake magic, most notably her floating bubble device. But some of the material with supporting players like Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey, whose innate charm was better served in the first movie) and Boq (Ethan Slater) is clunky and stilted.
Some story choices in the second half of the Wicked musical were always a bit forced, yet they still managed to mostly work within that environment, where their heightened nature felt more appropriate. But there are elements that now notably fall flat in the context of this movie alone, particularly how things play out with Boq and Elphaba’s lovestruck sister, Nessa (Melissa Bode). Director Jon M. Chu is trying to walk a fine line that Wicked: For Good sometimes stumbles off of, succumbing to the cheesier, more laughable side of melodrama.
The second half of For Good is where this Wizard of Oz prequel shifts into full “sidequel” mode, as Dorothy Gale (Bethany Weaver) arrives from Kansas, and we begin to see bits and pieces of some very familiar scenes. Something that was already a problem on stage is exacerbated here, as these scenes only really work or fully make sense if you have familiarity with The Wizard of Oz. Otherwise, what’s depicted often plays as outright confusing or bizarre, including a seemingly pivotal character we never get a good look at (Weaver’s face is purposely obscured in what becomes a distracting touch) and the interweaving of important Wicked characters into these moments in a way that feels frustrating because things happen so quickly or without full explanations. And yeah, the argument might be, “Well, everyone knows The Wizard of Oz,” but besides the tenuous nature of that argument in 2025 is the fact that Wicked: For Good still plays like an incomplete movie at times, regardless of your background with the story that begat it.
And yet, despite all of these issues – especially compared to the first movie – Wicked: For Good still ends up as just good enough. A key reason for that continues to be its strong central casting, as Erivo and Grande once more shine in these roles. It’s honestly quite remarkable that their energy and demeanor are so different, yet still somehow complementary, much in the same way Elphaba and Glinda co-exist as an extreme case of opposites attracting. The inner strength and resolve that Erivo projects is crucial, helping Wicked sell some of its messier aspects – like the use of talking animals as a wonky sort of analogy for an oppressed minority – in a manner it might have collapsed under with a less invested actress. Grande, meanwhile, continues to make Glinda a very funny and uniquely charming narcissist, simultaneously tapping into the despair the character frequently feels due to what is occurring around her.
And of course, both Erivo and Grande are stellar (and then some) when it comes to carrying a tune. Yes, the best songs from Wicked were also in the first half, but Erivo once more kills it on her big solo, “No Good Deed,” while the two actresses perform a poignant and powerful duet with the song that gives the sequel its subtitle, “For Good.” Musical moments like these really are key to the narrative of Wicked: For Good, impressively bringing emotional weight to a film that might otherwise lack it.
With a lot more screen time, Jeff Goldblum is also a highlight of Wicked: For Good, reprising his role as the Wizard himself. His big number (alongside Elphaba and Glinda), “Wonderful,” lives up to its title. It’s not only a fun, energetic sequence, with Goldblum looking like he’s having a ball performing it, but also plays more than a little topical in focus: once the public has bought into a con man’s lie, it’s nearly impossible to get them to break free of that lie.
There are scenes in Wicked: For Good that are outright cheesy and silly, and amongst Chu’s movie musicals, it doesn’t reach the heights of either the first Wicked or the appropriately titled In the Heights. But as it nears its conclusion, For Good wisely leans heavily into its best selling point, Erivo and Grande, who manage to end the movie on a poignant note. Despite the film’s earlier eye-rolling moments, Erivo and Grande’s talents make it easy to stay invested in the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, and to feel the impact as we watch their story unfold.
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire
- Producers
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Marc Platt, David Stone