The highly anticipated “Wicked For Good” movie, directed by Jon M. Chu finally premiered in theatres on Nov. 21, 2025. This movie adaptation of the 2003 original Broadway play has been highly anticipated around the world, following the sensational first film “Wicked,” released on Nov. 22, 2024, which retold act one of the play. The first movie amassed an astounding 7.4/10 on IMDb and 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, earning the title of an incredible and fantastic movie from  many. 

To recap Wicked 1, viewers  are introduced to Elphaba,  played by Cynthia Erivo, a green, neglected girl with immense power, and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, a self-absorbed, popular beauty queen.

Elphaba had grown up being bullied for her peculiar green appearance, but had remained a kind girl despite how people treated her. After a shocking display of her magic while dropping her sister off at Shiz University, a school for magic, she was automatically enrolled to learn how to manage her immense power.

Elphaba attends classes at Shiz and begins to study magic under Madame Morrible, a professor at the university. As her story unfolds, Elphaba uncovers secrets about how the animal citizens of Oz are really treated. Due to her magical ability, she is invited to meet the Wizard in Emerald City. She makes a wish to save the animals of Oz, but discovers the Wizard is a fake, without any real power. Alone, she takes the Grimmerie, a very powerful magic spellbook, away from Madame Morrible and the Wizard to prevent them from doing any harm. Yet, in the end, Morrible and the Wizard tell people she is evil, calling her the Wicked Witch, so that ​they fear her and find her, giving them more support and pushing all the blame on her. 

Alternatively, “Wicked For Good” fell short of expectations because the plot was lost in continuous singing that did not expand on the story. There was not a lot of story, action or plot to hold anyone’s interest, and overall the film scored 7.0/10 on IMDb and 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Nonetheless, the stylistic choices were fantastic throughout the movie. The costumes were absolutely phenomenal in this act, with more intricate designs that helped portray the story, while the set was well thought out and met or surpassed all high expectations. 

While the movie was enjoyable, it could have been watched at home. The second act of the original play was a little over an hour long, whereas the second act of the movie was two hours, challenging the audience’s interest. So despite the film’s stylistic beauty, it lacked substance. 

For fans of the first film, here is what’s different: once again, Cynthia Erivo was awesome; she got more screen time than any other character in the sequel, and her vocals were spot on, but parts of her story were not expanded on. Her character did not grow, and we did not really get to see what was happening during her time in the forest, nor all of her efforts to stop the Wizard or Madame Morrible. While she was one of the high points in the film, her story was filled with plot holes for such a main character. It would have been much more helpful if we got a better look into the minds of the main characters and more information about how the characters of the Wizard of Oz were progressing. 

Glinda, on the other hand, had a much more central role than in the first movie and was expanded on, giving a small glimpse into her feelings and childhood that we did not have before. 

Another big difference was in the role of Fiyero, played by Jonathan Bailey. In “Wicked for Good” he proved to be a more central character with more screen time. However, like Elphaba, his story was filled with holes, failing to provide  a broader understanding of what was happening. During the film, Fiyero was taken by the royal guards after saving Elphaba; however, the audience never sees him again until after Elphaba casts a spell that saves his life leaving questions unanswered about what happened. Nonetheless, Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero was an obvious highlight. He played the character to a tee and was much better in this film than in the last.

Compared to the first installment, “Wicked for Good,” as expected, was much darker and a bit all over the place. The film had allusions to greater messages which help reflect the times we live in, where good and bad is not black or white, and independent courage and free thinking can overcome evil. However personally, I would have appreciated it to be more concise, as greater context was needed, explaining its IMDb score of 7/10. It is undoubtedly a must-watch for fans of the first movie, but it was not necessarily worth a trip to the theaters.