One ofWicked’s co-writers explains how the second movie will expand the rest of the play. In order to adapt theWickedstage musical, director Jon M. Chu and his team decided to breakWickedinto two movies, with each film bringing one act of the stage play to the big screen. The first installment was released in November 2024, getting positive reviews and several Oscar nominations. The second part, originallyWicked: Part Two, had beentitledWicked: For Good, and is set for release on July 04, 2025.
In an interview withScreenRantat the WGA Awards,Wicked: For Goodscreenwriter Dana Fox explains how the second movie will expand the stage play. Fox explained that while the first movie was inundated with pivotal events from the first act, Act Two allowed the writing team “a little bit more room to be able to explore.” to dive deeper, Fox said the film will delve more into Glinda and Elphaba’s “friendship and their relationship to each other.” Check out the full quote from Fox below:
Dana Fox:Part Two actually has a little bit more room to be able to explore. Part One was pretty packed in terms of what was in the first act of the play, and all the things we knew we had to do. We explored, we deepened, and we tried to give you moments that you didn’t have in the play and verify we were taking advantage of the fact that this was a movie and you could fly and you could move around and you could get right up in the girls' faces. But in the second movie, there’s a little bit more space for interpretation and space to go to a few places that you don’t go to in the play, so I’m excited for people to see it.
I think I would just say it’s, “Don’t ever forget what the emotional core of the movie is about.” In every single moment that we were working on this, we were thinking about the girls and their friendship and their relationship to each other. We knew it was a platonic love story and that, in every single scene, even if the other character isn’t in the scene, you have to know that they’re thinking about each other. You have to know where they are in their journey of falling for each other.
What I love about this story is that you watch these two women meet each other, and they hate each other so much because they know that they’re the loves of each other’s lives. I’ve met people, like when I met my husband, where I was like, “This is going to ruin my life because I love you so much. It’s going to ruin everything.” I love that people get a chance to see that with female friendship.
What This Means For Wicked: For Good
Glinda & Elphaba Will Stay Platonic
Fox’s quote shows a deep understanding ofWicked’s core ideas, as she believes that the show really is about the relationship between these two people. The discussion of howWicked: For Goodwill extend concepts from the stage play is likely to assuage the fears of some who worry that Act Two is not as rich as Act oOne. WhileWicked’s second act has some great songs, Act One is considered to have the most iconic works, like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular”. As such, people have worried that thesecondWickedfilmcould be lesser.
If things go as well as this writer hints at, however, that will be far from the case. Her language is also interesting in how she talks about the relationship between the two main characters. There has always been discourse aboutElphaba and Glindahaving a romantic connection inWicked, a conversation that swelled up again when the movie was released. Fox acknowledges the depth of their relationship but confidently asserts this as a “female friendship” and a portrait of “platonic love” rather than anything romantic.
Our Take On The Wicked: For Good News
Wicked: For Good Will Be More Distinct From Its Source Material
The firstWickedmovie was very by the book. Other than expanding “One Short Day” to account for the cameos from Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth,Wickeddoes not add any original songs, nor does it change story points from the stage musical. However, the franchise still has Gregory Maguire’s whole novel to work off of, which includes a number of scenes not in the stage musical. From the sounds of Fox’s quote, it seems likeWicked: For Goodwill work closely with expanding these ideas, and it will do so through the story’s most important central relationship.
Wicked: For Good
Cast
Wicked: For Good concludes the two-part film adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway musical.
