Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 117

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/19/25 at 12:21pm

Ariana Grande Will Pause Pop Music After ‘Wicked: For Good’

https://www.vulture.com/article/ariana-grande-music-tour-last-hurrah.html

[getatme]

Posted: 11/19/25 at 12:34pm

Saw a screening on Monday and thought it was weaker compared to Part 1, but still very good.

Ariana stole the whole thing for me. Funny, charming, emotional, and an incredible amount of depth and heart. Plus pristine vocals.

I was less convinced by Cynthia. She felt a touch too restrained at times when I think Elphaba's visible anger needs to come through. But vocally, exceptional. And her final scenes with Ariana through to the end of the movie are beautiful.

The new songs are harmless. Neither is particularly good, neither is particularly bad. Them both being ballads in a ballad-heavy second act was not a great choice.

Overall, rather surreal to be watching Wicked movies after all this time. And I think these are just about the best adaptations we could've hoped for.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 11/19/25 at 2:07pm

ucjrdude902 said: "Beetlejuice will reopen The Palace and hell will freeze over before the Universal overlords allow this to be called "Western Sky.""

Jumping back in time to reminisce on the beginning of this thread. Who would’ve thought…

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/19/25 at 5:47pm

Jeremy Jahns, who last year gave the first film a good review, was more mixed on For Good.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 11/19/25 at 10:28pm

I saw this Monday night and agree with the other comments on here. I ended up loving it but it took a good 30min for me to get into it. I didn't find the 2 new songs to be that exciting or necessary but I'll listen to them again when the album releases. I liked the reprises and lyric updates we got as well. I visited The Wicked Experience at Universal Orlando a few months ago and some of the props from this movie were already on display there. I didn't realize it at the time though but it was cool to see the items pop up on screen. Give Ariana all of the awards for this movie. I would love to see Ethan and Jonathan nominated as well.

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 12:09am

Saw the film tonight and enjoyed it. It is not quite as good as part 1, but it’s a satisfying conclusion. The tone is uneven for at least the first quarter of the film, and I wasn’t fully pulled in until “As Long As Your Mine” which was fantastic, and an improvement over the stage version. 
The new songs were nice, but basically unnecessary and not up to par with the rest of the score. I didn’t like bringing the intensity of “March of the Witch Hunters” to a halt for “Girl in the Bubble” - but that was probably the point. 
I thought the inclusion of young Glinda was cheesy, but I understand it’s to give the character more back story. 
 

The performances were excellent. Erivo’s “No Good Deed” was impassioned and ferocious. Grande walks away with the film, as she nails every second of the final scenes. Bailey was smoldering in his scenes with Erivo. 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Unfortunately the trap door reveal remains in the film.  It always felt cheap and silly on stage, and isn’t much better here. It also doesn’t make sense. Elphaba sees Fiyero as the scarecrow for the first time after the trap door, but when did they come up with this escape plan?

 

Overall, I really enjoyed the film, but several of act two’s issues remain in the film. I do look forward to a second viewing. 

Updated On: 11/20/25 at 12:09 AM

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 1:18am

I saw the film on Monday and again tonight with my sister. As a huge fan of Wicked I expected to like the film regardless, but still the film surprised and blew me away. A second viewing elucidated some of the weaker moments, but I'm not one of those film people who feel the need to nitpick every little issue and ask dumb questions that don't need answers (like "who told the animals to come back?!?!?" saw that on Reddit). Sure there are still some quibbles with the incorporation of the MGM movie lore, but overall For Good fleshed out the world of Oz and added plenty of context that's missing from the stage production. 

I didn't love either new song but prefer "No Place Like Home." Cynthia's voice soars and I appreciated getting more insight into Elphaba's motivations. Of all the new material, I really enjoyed the expanded "Everyday More Wicked" which brought in some nice reprises. Upon second viewing I realized that For Good lacks choreography, which was a highlight of the first film for me. There's no equivalent to "What is this Feeling" or "Dancing Through Life" which has great choreo. That's unfortunately a nearly unsolvable issue since the second act of Wicked has few if any songs that can facilitate a bombastic dance moment. 

Erivo and Grande both deliver powerhouse performances, but Grande's range of emotion really sold the film for me. I see why people have been buzzing about potential award wins. "No Good Deed" really blew my wig into another atmosphere, both the vocals and cinematography. THAT is how you adapt a song like that to screen. Shout out to Slater and Bode who brought new depth and levels to characters that are often forgotten about on stage. I've seen a lot of discourse about Yeoh being miscast but I found her total villainous turn in For Good delicious. That one scene towards the end was incredible. 

Without getting into spoilers, I left the film feeling more satisfied than sad, which I appreciate. The ending felt conclusive with enough threads of mystery to potentially explore a future sequel. The final shot is absolute perfection, major props to Chu or whoever made that decision. 

As someone stated earlier, this 4.5 hour pair of films is probably the best adaptation we could hope for. It feels like a love letter to the people who have been a fan of Wicked for years if not decades. Is it perfect? No, there are both structural and tiny issues that bothered me as a fan. However, the performances alone will stand the test of time and I truly believe this project will go down as one of the most successful musical adaptations ever. 
 

Updated On: 11/20/25 at 01:18 AM

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 4:27am

Everyone is always saying oh things don’t pick up until ALAYM

its literally the same thing as the stage show …:cue is Wonderful over yet: lol

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 5:03pm

‘Wicked: For Good’ Review: Two Besties Till the End

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/movies/wicked-for-good-review.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k8.41Ga.zGvJ-HQmx5wI&smid=nytcore-android-share

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 6:22pm

Earlier today, I caught Wicked: For Good in theaters. Now that I’ve seen both parts, I’d say splitting this into two movies was the best decision the creative team made. If you’re familiar with the source material, you should know that Acts I & II both have very different tones. Gone is the more bright and vibrant tone of the first film, and it’s been traded for something much more serious. Similar to other musicals with darker second acts such as Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, and Ragtime. One of the complaints people had with Rob Marshall’s 2014 film adaptation of Into the Woods was how it adapted both acts into one movie (especially with its change of tone midway through). With Wicked split into two parts, it at least gives the story more breathing room.

Under Jon M. Chu’s direction, he successfully carries on a lot of the strengths of the first film into this one. The musical numbers are still mesmerizing to behold. Both Nathan Crowley’s production design and Paul Tazewell’s costumes continue to dazzle, Although Frances Hannon’s hair and makeup is even more impressive this time. A chief complaint people had last time was Alice Brooks’ cinematography. Does it still contain some plain white lighting? Yes, but the actual camera work is still easily the better part of it. As this installment follows parallel storylines for Elphaba and Glinda, Myron Kerstein’s editing impressively manages to balance out both of them.

Once again, screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox successfully dived deeper into the story, characters, and world of Oz. Although Stephen Schwartz also managed to beef up some of his score from Act II of the stage version (especially in the beginning), which was a nice touch. He also wrote two brand new songs, ‘No Place Like Home’ for Elphaba and ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ for Glinda. Having as of now only heard both of them once, they have good intentions, but neither are particularly memorable. Yet Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande do at least perform both of them very well. Speaking of which, both ladies once again kill it in their respective roles.

Erivo’s Elphaba in particular has grown a lot since the last time we saw her. She may still be an outsider, but not just because of her green skin, but because of the enemy she’s been painted as by the public. Her big standout moment was easily her powerhouse rendition of ‘No Good Deed.’ With Grande’s Glinda, she may still be funny, but also works well with meatier material this time around. Together, they both share such a heartwrenching rendition of the second act’s most popular (no pun intended) number, ‘For Good.’ I must say that it’s hard not to tear up during it. Jeff Goldblum may still be more of a talk-singer, but he at least does fare better this time with his rendition of ‘Wonderful.’ Not to mention that Michelle Yeoh really comes into her own here as the true villain of the story, Madame Morrible.

How does Wicked: For Good compare to the first movie? Many will understandably prefer the latter for its bright tone and arguably more memorable songs. Plus, the story beats in the second half with the more recognizable characters from The Wizard of Oz are kind of oddly put together. The end results are probably not as accomplished as its predecessor. With that being said, it’s still a satisfying conclusion to this epic two-part adaptation of one of the biggest musicals of all time.

Click Here for My Full Review

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 7:05pm

The 2pm imax screening at Lincoln square was a who’s-who of theater people in the audience.

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 9:29pm

Watching Bailey in As Long As You’re Mine was like watching a T-Rex about to devour a goat. It was literally scary and psycho killer chic in 3D. He and Erivo had the chemistry of Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivier in Moulin Rouge, which is basically non-existent. For Good was good and benefited from the restraint of camerawork, although I do feel they could pare it down a bit more and let the song do the work. Overall it’s a bunch of hits and misses but I don’t regret watching it.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 9:51pm

ljay889 said: "

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Unfortunately the trap door reveal remains in the film. It always felt cheap and silly on stage, and isn’t much better here. It also doesn’t make sense. Elphaba sees Fiyero as the scarecrow for the first time after the trap door, but when did they come up with this escape plan?
 

"

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

It appeared to me that Elphaba pulled off her escape plan entirely by herself. Fiyerio, being aware of the trap door in the castle, opened it to see if she was down there. When she came out, that was when she realized that the spell she casted on him worked.

 

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/20/25 at 9:54pm

As a big Wicked fan that was some tone switch. I thought the movie was great. Some stuff was a hit or miss (fast pace editing- fun lines were cut) but it did the show justice. Jonathon was the standout and his final scene was touching. I wanted more from Nessa causing havoc to the munchkins before the tornado came. Girl can fly but they made her go back in her chair? The best song of the night was Thank Goodness. The final shot of the movie  was worth the price and I was shocked when it happened. Let’s get Jon to remake Return to Oz! Overall it was beautiful. Sad to see it over 

Updated On: 11/21/25 at 09:54 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 1:30am

After being thoroughly won over by part 1, I found For Good to be a letdown. I had hoped that expanding the material would help the musical’s shambolic, unfocused second act, but it… didn’t. The glaring plot holes remain, now with more stuff around them. The new solos fade from memory instantly, while there seemed to be a lot more CGI action (Elphaba could basically join the Marvel universe). Many of the reveals brought laughter from the audience I was with- the “Wicked Witch of the East” sequence especially landed poorly (Marissa Bode’s petulant, whiny Nessa somehow manages to come off worse than the actual villains). 

Fortunately it’s anchored by the performances, with Erivo and Grande’s deeply felt Elphaba and Glinda sparkling off the screen. And they are ably aided by Bailey, Goldblum, Slater, and Yeoh.  But this just doesn’t have the magic of the first part- there are far more lows than highs here. I wasn’t changed much at all.

Updated On: 11/21/25 at 01:30 AM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 1:40am

Michelle Yeoh was horrible in this. Where the heck was Bette Midler?


Talk about phoning it in.

[Kad]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 1:45am

TotallyEffed said: "Michelle Yeoh was horrible in this."

no, she was Morrible in this. 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 6:11am

Kad said: "TotallyEffed said: "Michelle Yeoh was horrible in this."

no, she was Morrible in this."

Home run response.

 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 6:35am

‘Wicked’ and the Never-Ending Press Tour

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/movies/wicked-for-good-2-ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo.html?unlocked_article_code=1.208.KkYO.H181SlQxxFx6&smid=nytcore-android-share

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:08am

I don’t think this was bad, by any means. But it certainly wasn’t as good as part one. Like mentioned before, the expanded length absolutely works against this film and shows that splitting them in two maybe wasn’t the best idea, after all. 

You could play the entire soundtrack to someone who’d never heard of this musical before and I’m sure they could pick out the new songs as the two written specially for this. Elphaba’s new song is fine I suppose but really hokey and Glinda’s new song sounds like something written specially for Grande, so it sort of sticks out as not fitting well. 

And while the dorothy stuff and the integration of the original Oz film/story has always not made a lot of sense in the Wicked-universe if you think about it for more than 10 seconds, with the expansion of it here so many more plot holes are glaringly obvious. It also struck me as very weird that the scarecrow is nowhere to be found (even from behind) during the “March of the Witch Hunters”. Oddly that really stuck out and bothered me. 

Im looking forward to going and watching part one and two together, maybe it’ll work better for me that way. Again, I didn’t dislike this film but it was (in some ways) a let down after “act one”. I will add that the final image on screen was a touch of brilliance. 

Updated On: 11/21/25 at 07:08 AM

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:21am

I saw the double feature yesterday, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sequel with so much working in its favor miss the mark like this. It’s absolutely wild to me that they filmed it at the same time as Part 1, since it looks and feels like a lower budget rush job in nearly every aspect.

Truly, everything about it feels worse. The camera blocking is bizarre. (There’s one point in “For Good” where the camera is just whirling around their heads for what feels like a solid minute, like one of those 360° photo booths at a wedding.) The CGI feels like it makes up the majority of the film’s runtime, because they insist on adding all the trappings of a Marvel movie. It also felt like there were fewer costumes for the leads. The first movie basically verged on being a pageant, with the amount of costuming on display for the leads alone. But here, Elphaba and Glinda are basically in the same two outfits the whole time (don’t get me started on Elphaba’s sex sweater).

Where Part 1’s runtime felt like it gave the breathless pace of Wicked’s first act room to breathe, Part 2 feels bloated with extra stuff and bifurcated plot beats we don’t need. It should not take almost 10 full minutes to get to “Thank Goodness”. And they still didn’t include all of “The Wicked Witch of the East”! That poor song will never have its day in the sun (which is probably for the best here since Marissa Bode is… not exactly the movie’s secret weapon).

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande mostly deliver the goods here, but they’re both hampered with those awful new songs that would have been cut early in an out-of-town tryout and no additional room to actually flesh out the sudden character shifts like I assumed they would. Jonathan Bailey comes out looking the best, mostly because he isn’t given additional crap to do unnecessarily. Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are all but phoning it in. I think most of the blame, though, lies with Jon Chu, Winnie Holzman, and Dana Fox, who have created a movie with some of the most muddled storytelling I’ve ever seen.

What worked? Both movies are all about the relationship between these two women. When they’re apart for the bulk of the runtime, you ache for them to be back together, and it’s so worth the wait. “For Good” and the scenes before and after it are excellent (Grande, in particular, is heartbreaking), and the final shot is genuinely surprising and moving. And Erivo sings the hell out of “No Good Deed”.

But damn. I never thought, after what a knockout Part 1 was, that I’d walk away from Part 2 praising Winnie Holzman’s economy of storytelling in the musical’s second act. Really goes to show what a marvelous job Joe Mantello did trimming the fat of the stage production, particularly in the second act.

Updated On: 11/22/25 at 07:21 AM

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:26am

I agree it should never been spilt. Ari would of won her Oscar. 
Promo pics had Scarecrow in March but it’s very hard to see him (blink you will miss him) Between the new songs I enjoyed  No place like home better 

also where the heck was the time dragon clock ? 

Updated On: 11/21/25 at 07:26 AM

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:32am

How 2 New Songs Made Their Way Into ‘Wicked: For Good’

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/movies/wicked-for-good-new-songs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.208.8VfX.eP8WBTTAJSYz&smid=nytcore-android-share

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:34am

No one is getting nominated for this. The more I think of it the messier it becomes. Which is strange cause for me on stage I think Act two is stronger. I did think the same as Jordan that maybe a double feature would work. Sadly I can’t see myself sitting through this again. 

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 8:16am

rosscoe(au) said: "No oneis getting nominated for this. The more I think of it the messier it becomes. Which is strange cause for me on stage I think Act two is stronger. I did think the same as Jordan that maybe a double feature would work. Sadly I can’t see myself sitting through this again."

Most prediction sites have Wicked: For Good landing a Best Picture nomination (it’s definitely not winning but I think it will definitely get a nom). I’d be genuinely shocked if both Cynthia and Ariana didn’t score Oscar nominations (I think Ari has a real shot at winning). Paul Tazewell is almost guaranteed a nomination too, though I could see Frankenstein taking home the award.

What I’m most curious about are the two new songs. They’re not winning, but I am interested to see if one, or even both, can snag a nomination.