<i>Wicked: Part Two</i> Is Now <i>Wicked: For Good</i>—Here’s What We Know About the Movie-Musical Sequel

Should you find the hype around Jon M. Chu’s Wicked adaptation so overwhelming as to become—as Glinda herself might put it—confusifying, just remember this: It’s far from over! As Wicked: Part One continues to takes over the world, its dogged marketing team is only just settling in for a second term. Wicked: Part Two is already on its way—with a new title—and will continue the saga of Elphaba and Glinda where Part One left off on a (literal) high note. For long-time Wicked fans and newcomers alike, here’s a quick guide to what you can expect next.

On Dec. 16, 2024, Universal announced the film’s new title, Wicked: For Good. It’s a clear reference to one of the highlights in the musical’s second act, the ballad “For Good” sung between Glinda and Elphaba.

The sequel will drop almost a year to the day after its predecessor. Wicked: For Good is scheduled to land in theaters November 21, 2025.

Because the first and second films were shot back-to-back (and wrapped in January 2024), director Jon M. Chu won’t need to convince his actors to return for a separate production slot. For that reason, you can expect the same cast from Part One to appear in For Good, including Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Jeff Goldblum (The Wizard), Ethan Slater (Boq), and Marissa Bode (Nessarose).

As for potential newcomers to the For Good cast, we’ll likely have to wait for news on the front. But it would seem the Wizard of Oz protagonist Dorothy Gale herself could have a more sizable role in the second film. As Chu told Screen Rant, Dorothy’s quick cameo in Part One “is important because [it] plays a significant role in what will happen...But you’ll have to see movie 2 to know how far we go with her.”

Goldblum, who returns as the Wizard, teased that he might showcase a musical moment of his own in the sequel—though he kept quiet on the details. Speaking to ABC’s On The Red Carpet at the 2025 Oscars, Goldblum hinted that fans can expect “emotional complications and twists,” and praised Erivo and Grande for delivering performances that will “further thrill you and chill you and devastate you.”

Chu’s Part One adaptation is adamantly faithful to the musical’s first act, and we can expect For Good to follow the same pattern—and therefore feature all of Act 2’s songbook. Those numbers include:

• “No One Mourns the Wicked” (Reprise)
• “Thank Goodness”
• “The Wicked Witch of the East”
• “Wonderful”
• “I’m Not That Girl” (Reprise)
• “As Long As You’re Mine”
• “No Good Deed”
• “March of the Witch Hunters”
• “For Good”
• “Finale”

As reported last year, Wicked: For Good will also feature two new songs, both composed by Stephen Schwartz, the mastermind behind the original musical. Chu reiterated this news in a recent interview with Games Radar, saying, “We get maybe a new song—or two. We get more into the meat, and the best is yet to come with these characters.”

On the Thursday, December 26, episode of Award Chatter, Erivo told Variety more about the new music.

“I collaborated on one of the new songs, and it’s so special to me,” the star shared. “When we filmed it, the entire crew was in tears. I hope audiences are ready—it’s a song that speaks to the heart of who Elphaba is.”

She continued, “We’re diving deeper into the consequences of the characters’ choices. The story is richer, and the stakes are higher. It’s not just a continuation; it’s a transformation.”

Erivo doesn’t see the character as “purely” evil, even if she eventually becomes “wicked.”

“Elphaba isn’t wicked. None of the characters are purely good or bad. They’re flawed, complex and human,” Erivo insisted. “This story asks us to reconsider the labels we place on others and ourselves. It’s about empathy and understanding. The world needs more of that right now.”

Grande echoed the shift in tone, saying the sequel will explore themes of unconditional love, forgiveness, and the emotional consequences of earlier choices. At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February, she described For Good as “very special and very emotional” and “quite different” from the first film.

Now we’re entering spoiler territory, so if you’re not one of the thousands of theater kids that know every Wicked riff by heart, be forewarned.

Like Act 2 of the musical, For Good will pick up some time after the cliffhanger ending of Part One, which sees Elphaba escaping the Wizard of Oz and Madame Morrible via enchanted broomstick. In Part Two’s new reality, Glinda is now Glinda the Good, a beacon of hope to Oz’s increasingly red-pilled (or, shall we say, green-pilled?) citizens. Nessarose is the new mayor of Munchkinland; the Wizard and Madame Morrible’s propaganda campaign against Elphaba has reached new heights; and Fiyero has become the Wizard’s captain of the guard, less out of fealty to the Wizard than out of desire to find (and aid) Elphaba.

When Glinda announces she and Fiyero are engaged, this is unwelcome news to him, and he decides to continue his pro-Elphaba campaign with or without his apparent fiancé. But when Elphaba at last re-appears, it’s in Munchkinland, where she’s arrived to visit her sister, Nessarose. As Nessa makes her anger and bitterness with Elphaba apparent, the latter’s attempts to do “good” backfire on her yet again. From there, she embraces her role as Wicked Witch of the West...if only to give Ozians the common enemy they so desire.

Cynthia Erivo teased that For Good will see Elphaba and Glinda “step into the decisions that they've made.” She explained on Good Morning America, “They have to go separate ways. It becomes a little darker for them, a little tougher for them. But I think it’s really beautiful the journeys that they have to go on, whether or not they come back together, I don’t know. You have to see.”

As theater kids who adored Wicked the musical—and sought to feed their obsession with the source material—might recall, Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is...different, to say the least. The book is not only much more expansive in the sociopolitical terrain it covers, but it’s also more violent and more sexually explicit. (It’s also, frankly, weirder.) Given Part One’s PG rating, it’s unlikely For Good Two will venture far from that precedent, and will therefore have to skip many of the darker turns in Maguire’s novel.

Still, there are some cues we can expect Chu might take from Maguire. One is the presence of Dorothy Gale, who plays a much more essential role in the book than she does in the musical adaptation. Another possibility is that For Good might make further reference to Oz’s political landscape, as Part One only skims the surface of why Oz is so anti-animal rights. Justice for Dr. Dillamond.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

As referenced above, Chu says Dorothy “plays a significant role in what will happen,” but he’s keeping his lips sealed as to what, exactly, that means. So far, the character has made a quick cameo—though shown from behind—in the beginning of Wicked: Part One.

Chu further explained to Variety, “In the show, Dorothy is around. They have to intersect, and you can only tease it so much. I won’t say whether she’s a character, necessarily, in movie two. There’s a part of me that wants everyone’s Dorothy to be the whatever Dorothy they want. And yet, there is interaction and some crossover. So I’ll leave that up to ‘Part Two.’”

Fly to your nearest theater, friends—at least until the film lands on Peacock on March 21.

This story will be updated.