Wicked: For Good is nearly here, officially hitting theaters on November 21!
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande return as Elphaba and Glinda alongside cast members Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, and Bronwyn James.
Keep reading to find out more…
Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award® nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices.
Elphaba (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 (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 (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 (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 only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
Wicked: For Good also stars Emmy nominee Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James as Glinda’s fawning assistants, Pfannee and ShenShen, and Sharon D. Clarke as the voice of Elphaba’s childhood nanny, Dulcibear.
Now that the review embargo has lifted, critics are speaking out with their thoughts from early screenings.
Wicked: For Good currently has a 72% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 97% audience score.
ScreenCrush gave it a 6 out of 10, writing: “As the lyrics of the title song suggest, a change for good does not necessarily mean a change for the better.”
AP gave it 2 out of 4, writing: “I rarely found myself lifted into a movie world, but rather sat watching it — sometimes with admiration, rarely with delight — from the mezzanine. The rub of going for maximum effect all the time is that the actors never have a chance to simply be.”
USA Today gave it 3.5 out of 4, writing: “Even with an overcomplicated ending and a couple of character development nitpicks, you couldn’t ask for a more Wicked closer.”
BBC gave it 4 out of 5, writing: “This film is as slick and shiny as Glinda’s lip gloss, but it may also be just what its many fans want.”
The Wrap writes: “There hasn’t been a pre-planned ‘Part Two’ this disappointing since the second half of Andy Muschietti’s It. At least nobody projectile vomits on Jeff Goldblum to the tune of Juice Newton’s ‘Angel of the Morning.’”
London Evening Standard gave it 5 out of 5, writing: “Everything is stitched together beautifully to create an exhilarating piece of movie musical magic that re-invents the Golden Age.”
Empire gave it 3 out of 5, and says: “Not quite over the rainbow, then, but just enough of its colours and candour to get by.”
Slant gave it 2.5 out of 4, writing: “The film is stretched out, breathless, and never really emotionally affecting, even on the level of nostalgia.”
Boston Globe gave it 2 out of 4, and says: “The follow-up to director Jon M. Chu’s massive 2024 hit is more of the same, only darker. The dark elements are written into the show’s second act, which even fans would agree is not as good as the first.”
IndieWire gives it a B-, writing: “The things that missed the mark the first time, well, they still do. The things that worked in Wicked? They still do, but only a clock-tick better.”
Guardian gave it 4 out of 5, writing: “What a performance from Erivo; it is genuinely moving when the Prince has to convince Elphaba what we, the audience, have always known: that she is beautiful.”
Will there be a third Wicked movie? Find out!
See who attended the NYC premiere!
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