The cinematic curtain rises once more on the land of Oz with Wicked: For Good, the second instalment in the grand film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical Wicked. Under the direction of Jon M. Chu, the story picks up after the events of the first film and charts a darker turn for our characters and their world.
Cynthia Erivo returns as Elphaba, now labelled the legendary Wicked Witch of the West, living in exile and spearheading a burgeoning rebellion. Meanwhile Ariana Grande’s Glinda navigates the fraught corridors of power in Oz, facing the realisation that her once‑lighthearted mission may carry deep consequences. The land around them, once brimming with magic and possibility, begins to shift beneath the tread of propaganda, fear and uprising.
The stakes in Oz feel heightened: the lighter beginnings have given way to a narrative that grapples with authority, identity, and rebellion. For fans of the stage musical, the set‑pieces remain—the yellow brick road, the looming Wizard, the sisterhood between Glinda and Elphaba. Yet the film also attempts to deepen the emotional core, using its expanded runtime to examine what it means to be labelled “wicked” or “good.”
Nevertheless, the response has been cautious. Many applaud Erivo’s powerhouse performance and the chemistry between the leads, but others question the decision to split the story into two films—arguing that the pacing drags, and that the momentum from the first instalment falters here. The adaptation remains visually ambitious and thematically bold, but for some the magic isn’t quite as spell‑binding as expected.
In the end, Wicked: For Good offers a spectacle layered in ambition—one that stakes out a conclusion not just for a franchise, but for the emotional journey of its characters. Whether it lives up to the soaring potential of Oz depends largely on which kind of viewer you are: one chasing fantasy and visuals, or one seeking tight narrative craftsmanship. Either way, the land of Oz has been changed, and this time the witches aren’t just looking for approval—they’re rewriting the story.
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