Universal

Get a peek behind the curtain at 'Wicked: For Good'

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Aug 7, 2025 11:13 AM ET

Universal Pictures is offering fans a new behind-the-scenes look at the making and meaning of Jon M. Chu's Wicked: For Good, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Elphaba, 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.

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, Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard.

"They're both stepping into this new space in their lives, and I think that actually makes them all the more powerful," Erivo says of the two witches, with Grande adding that "much has changed."

Erivo continues to comment that what Elphaba and Glinda had in the first film "can never come back again, and what they have to move into is something very different," later adding that their bond is "unbreakable" despite the challenges and distance.

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"It's really about them trying to get back together in some way, even if the fates don't allow that," the director expressed, pointing out that this will also be the intersection of the world of Wicked and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero 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 and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, 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.

"These two women love each other so much, and they truly change each other for the better," Grande concluded. The talented cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum.

Wicked: For Good will be released in theaters on November 21.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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