The witch-hunt is on, as Emerald City prepares to open its gates again. Universal has debuted the trailer for Wicked: For Good, the follow-up to Jon M. Chu’s big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, teasing higher stakes that will put Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship to the test, more flying monkeys, a first look at Dorothy, and, of course, plenty of singing.
“Elphaba, they’re coming for you,” warns Glinda, played by singer-actor Ariana Grande, midway into the video, which also includes familiar nods to the Wizard of Oz story, like the yellow brick road, and Dorothy and her companions — The Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion. Oh, and the preview of “For Good” and “No Good Deed” is bound to delight fans.
Picking up after the final scene in the first movie, in which Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba flies through the sky while singing the iconic “Defying Gravity”, Wicked: For Good focuses on the two witches facing the consequences of their previous decisions. Per the official logline, this second part is “set in the Land of Oz, before and after Dorothy Gale’s arrival from Kansas”, and will cover the events of the musical’s second act, as they “embrace their new respective identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch of the North, and how the consequences of their actions will change all of Oz forever.”
Reprising their roles alongside Erivo and Grande are Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as Fiyero Tigelaar, Ethan Slater as Boq Woodsman, Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park franchise) as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Chu is back in the director’s chair, with Marc Platt and David Stone serving as producers.
The first Wicked film hit theatres last November, and together with Gladiator II, opened to a combined US$270 million at the global box office. It would go on to earn US$634 million worldwide after six weeks, and is now the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation globally. The stage version is loosely based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” and has remained a Broadway sensation over the years.
Wicked: For Good is slated for release on 21 November.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
