In Universal Pictures’ epic musical fantasy “Wicked: For Good,” director Jon M. Chu concludes the tale he began with his 2024 film “Wicked.” Based on the Broadway musical first staged in 2003, which was in turn adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” both films star Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Galinda – later called Glinda – and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz. 

“Wicked: For Good” is undeniably a dazzling film. Every department pulls out all the stops to transport its audience into the wonderful world of Oz, a fantastical land filled with light and color. Oscar-winning production designer Nathan Crowley conjures up a meticulously realized world of magic and delight, captured beautifully by the ravishing cinematography of Alice Brooks.

The VFX team, led by ILM’s Pablo Helman, deserves special mention for the film’s breathtaking array of visual effects. Alongside Framestore animation supervisor Dale Newton, Helman delivered a stunning presentation at VIEW Conference 2025, detailing the creation of panoramic vistas, seamless set extensions, compelling animated characters and, of course, all the scenes where magic and enchantment take center stage. 

Beneath this visual splendor lie profound messages that invite us to reflect on a world that is much closer to home. This subtext is apparent from the very beginning. Since Elphaba’s transformational decision to “Defy Gravity” at the end of “Wicked,” everything has changed. Elphaba is now Public Enemy Number One, a fact announced by the Wizard’s cynical spin doctor, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), even before the introductory Universal Pictures globe has finished spinning on the cinema screen. “Shield your children,” Morrible says. “Trust no animals. She (Elphaba) will be eliminated.”

No sooner have we taken in the film’s beautiful opening shot – a gorgeous Munchkinland meadow – than the peace is shattered by the arrival of industrial-scale machines building the new Yellow Brick Road. Mechanical plows chew up the landscape, pulled by beasts of burden visibly suffering in the yoke – the very animals referred to by Morrible, now robbed of their rights and exploited as slave labor. Even the road itself is not what it seems – those bricks might look like gold ingots, but really they are crude substitutes covered in cheap yellow paint.

As new laws come into force, we see signs that read: “No Animals” and “No Munchkins,” clearly referencing racial segregation. Later, Elphaba discovers the Wizard’s darkest secret – a hidden catacomb where luckless animals lie imprisoned in rows of grimy cages, like undesirables in immigration camps. Meanwhile, Morrible continues to drip her poison into the ears of the populace, churning out pamphlets and broadcasting her lies in a manner that is chillingly reminiscent of Big Brother’s Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”

Here, then, is undeniable evidence proving what we already know – that the Wizard is not the benevolent ruler his people believe him to be, but an authoritarian dictator. While he loves to put on a spectacular show, his so-called wizardry is just an illusion – he has no special powers, and cares only about himself. Yet, he argues, his hands are tied. “They’ll never stop believing in me,” he says, acknowledging a truth that is as dark for Oz as it is convenient for him, “because they don’t want to.” Choose a leader currently in power on the world’s stage and ask yourself – do we see parallels between them and the Wizard we see in “Wicked: For Good?”

By aligning herself with the ill-treated animals, Elphaba is making a clear political statement. While Morrible’s propaganda identifies her as a terrorist, she on the other hand considers herself a freedom fighter, recognizing what is wrong in Oz and wanting to bring about change. Echoing present-day concerns about mercurial leaders and the havoc they can wreak, her heartfelt song “No Place Like Home” takes the classic line from “The Wizard of Oz” and transforms it into the heartfelt lament of someone who feels alienated in a country where they should feel safe and wanted. “Why do I love this place that’s never loved me?” she sings. Sad as it is, the song is full of hope, as Elphaba argues that, while Oz is just a land “made of dirt and rock and loam,” it also holds the promise of something better. Something wonderful.

While it is packed with thought-provoking themes, “Wicked: For Good” succeeds by delighting its audience with spectacle and song. The scenes that shine brightest of all are those in which Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande share the screen as Elphaba and Glinda. Their performances are powerful and nuanced, and the duets they sing together are sublime. It is a joy to see two such talented artists inhabiting their characters so fully, bringing such commitment to their roles, each feeding off the energy of the other. 

Each performer dazzles the audience with their own unique beauty, further celebrated by the extraordinary work of the costume department, makeup and hair, lighting and cinematography … the list goes on. The epitome of popularity, Glinda glides through her scenes like an ethereal prom queen, dressed in scintillating ball gowns and radiating a glow worthy of fairy royalty. In contrast, the beauty of the eternally misunderstood Elphaba is rooted in a more earthy physicality, reflecting her affinity with the natural world and, in particular, Oz’s downtrodden community of talking animals.

Outwardly, then, Elphaba and Glinda are total opposites, drawn from different worlds and seeking radically different goals. Yet, in those memorable shared scenes, the first thing we see is their affection for one another. Even when these two characters are in conflict, their love shines through. When Glinda sees Elphaba apparently die before her eyes, her grief is real … and so is ours.

Elphaba’s departure is intimately staged so that we, the audience, share Glinda’s viewpoint as she peeps out from the closet where she is hiding. The filmmakers’ decision to present Elphaba’s death in this way heightens our empathy for Glinda. At the same time, it plays with the conventions of cinema, reminding us that the movie-going experience itself is an act of voyeurism. Through the use of shadow-play, the director calls back to the theatrical origins of the source material – not only the “Wicked” stage show, but also the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” which itself sprang from vaudeville traditions dating back to the beginning of the 20th century.

We are also encouraged to empathize with Elphaba. When we eventually learn that she survived her encounter with Dorothy (Bethany Weaver), effectively staging her own death, we understand that Elphaba was motivated by more than just the urge to escape from her life of persecution in Oz. Her actions have also saved her new-found love Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), and given Glinda the opportunity to grow in a way that would have been impossible without Elphaba’s sacrifice. Now, having already opened Fiyero’s eyes to a different way of seeing the world, and in her final act as the narrative’s essential vehicle of change, Elphaba says to Glinda before they part for the final time, “They need someone to be Wicked, so you can be Good.” 

For all these reasons and more, the final scenes of “Wicked: For Good” are rich with with genuine emotion, as Elphaba and Fiyero begin their lonely trek across the Deadly Desert to the Land Beyond Oz, and Glinda savors her first taste of true magic when the Grimmerie finally opens for her. It is the friendship of these two unforgettable characters, whose journey we have shared across two spectacular films, that has brought them to these turning points. Truly, from this point on, they have both been changed for good.