Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 121

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 5:32am

John Adams said: "TheatreFan4 said: "They stupidly put it on the Score Album that releases in 2 weeks. Its out on Spotify already, but doesn't include the speech part, just the For Good reprise section."

and EricMontreal22 said:"I mean, it's not as stupid as not recording Wicked Witch of the East on the original cast album because of "spoilers" (spoilers on a cast album?) but still annoying..."

There's no question in my mind that it's all about the dinero. By putting the Finale and Glinda's speech on a separate album, "completists" will have to spend more.

There's a workaround for those who want to save some money, though, if you purchase via a digital source like Apple Music (although Apple Music really sucks lately).

When the score album is released in a couple of weeks, you can purchase the (2) tracks a-la-carte, then manually update the track numbers, album title, and artist name data to exactly match those of the "Wicked: For Good" soundtrack.

It's a tedious process but you only have to do it once, and if done correctly, the (2) tracks will merge onto the "...For Good" album with everything, all in one place.

Another option would be to hold off for the "Wicked Deluxe" album which seems almost inevitable."

Anyone who purchases two separate albums and does all this, that's a skill issue in 2025. Spotify and Apple Music are right there, get with the times. 

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 5:43am

joevitus said: "And why is poor Toto on a leash?"

I thought that was a pretty clear and obvious directorial choice. The second film strongly emphasized Elphaba's commitment to animal rights so leashing Toto would make her hate Dorothy even more. Elphaba probably doesn't even know what a "leash" is and would be perturbed to see a dog dragged around by one. 

Updated On: 11/26/25 at 05:43 AM

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 5:55am

QueenTwinnied said: "joevitus said: "And why is poor Toto on a leash?"

I thought that was a pretty clear and obvious directorial choice. The second film strongly emphasized Elphaba's commitment to animal rights so leashing Toto would make her hate Dorothy even more. Elphaba probably doesn't even know what a "leash" is and would be perturbed to see a dog dragged around by one."

The girl killed her sister and stole her sister's shoes. Not sure you can up the hatred beyond that. 

[QueenTwinnied]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 6:20am

Ok well, I apologize for giving you a very logical answer to one of the many dumb inquiries in your original post. My bad. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 10:18am

Well the witch couldn’t have been too angry at the leash since she threatens to kill Toto. 

[John Adams]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 12:05pm

QueenTwinnied said: "Anyone who purchases two separate albums and does all this, that's a skill issue in 2025. Spotify and Apple Music are right there, get with the times."

No, thanks.

Cheapest subscription plan for Spotify is $11.99/mo. For Apple Music, $10.99/mo. (Higher fees apply on subscriptions with more than (1) end-user.)

For a single user, that's $143.88/yr and $131.88/yr, respectively. Both of those monthly fees are more than the cost of purchasing a single album, that would be mine to use as many times, and for as long a period as the playable technology remains relevant (in my case, that's been decades).

At those subscription prices, I would have to consume ~10 new albums/yr to be cost effective. That's never been the case for me.

Also, after the first year, I would essentially be "renting" those same 10 albums over and over again for however many years I kept the subscription. 

No, thanks.

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 3:04pm

QueenTwinnied said: "Ok well, I apologize for giving you a very logical answer to one of the many dumbinquiries in your original post. My bad."

Let me guess, you were one of the people who wouldn't shut up at my screening?

[joevitus]

Posted: 11/26/25 at 10:05pm

Went back again today. It's crazy how much I love this movie. Still have all the problems I had before, but they just don't matter in the end. And, retroactively, I like Part 1 better because of it. Really hits me emotionally. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/27/25 at 12:54pm

Stephen Schwartz on the Two New 'Wicked' Songs and Spinoff Prospects

https://variety.com/2025/music/news/stephen-schwartz-wicked-new-songs-music-spinoff-interview-1236594150

[Idiot]

Posted: 11/27/25 at 11:34pm

Oh.  THAT's where they put all of the unconvincing, unsatisfying contrivances that made me not like the stage show.  They saved them for FOR GOOD.  Lordy, that's not a good movie.  But hey - I enjoyed the first one MUCH MORE than I expected to, and now it makes sense why. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 11/28/25 at 7:28am

kdogg36 said: "I haven't seen the film yet, but for what it's worth I've always thought that the stage show ends up juggling too many themes without giving any of them full justice. Of course, I'll take having too much to say over having nothing to say any day of the week."

I saw the film yesterday, and I’m very happy to report that Wicked: For Good transcends the second act of the stage musical in deftly handling its multiple themes. The movie does at least as good a job in depicting the tumultuous course of Elphaba and Glinda’s unique friendship, and in addition it makes good use of its running time to fully address its pointed political themes. Of course, in this it’s aided by its felicitous timing: in 2025 it’s not very hard to imagine a leader whose supporters love him despite (perhaps because of?) his lies, and who’s willing to brutally demonize a disfavored class of people to maintain his sway over them. 
 

Regarding all the putative plot holes that have been discussed here, I noticed them but I’m very willing to suspend disbelief in a fantasy setting like this one, and just let the storytellers tell their story. What does bother me a little in this regard is Fiyero’s complete disappearance from the narrative after he’s turned into a scarecrow, until his reunion with Elphaba. Unlike Boq/Tin Woodsman, whose goals in both Wicked and Wizard of Oz are in broad alignment at this point in the story, it’s hard to imagine what Fiyero/Scarecrow would be doing and saying at this point that would maintain coherence for both plots. Subtle sabotage and horrified resignation are likely candidates, but it seems like the writers decided not to even try to fill in this gap. 
 

But that’s a minor issue for a movie adaptation that I found extremely satisfying. In the end I’m glad they split the show into two films: this story needed some breathing room. As someone who very much likes the stage version of Wicked but does not especially treasure it, I hope I’ll be forgiven for saying that I prefer the movies and look forward to revisiting them in the future. 

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 11/29/25 at 12:28am

Even though I wish it were one film and do treasure the stage show, and don't know how they could have "fixed" Fiyero when he has to have a surprise reveal, well said kdogg36, especially about suspending disbelief in a fantasy film for crying out loud!

Updated On: 12/2/25 at 12:28 AM

[Musical Master]

Posted: 11/29/25 at 9:51am

I'm going to see this again next weekend with family members who are excited for this one. They saw Part One and loved it, so it should be interesting to see how they'll react to Wicked: For Good.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/1/25 at 8:14am

This past weekend, Wicked: For Good saw a 57% drop at the box office.
https://x.com/GiteshPandya/status/1995158957225075109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995158957225075109%7Ctwgr%5Ee8e6eea92940791c7519b2c2c962f0551d80b6c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldderby.com%2Ftopic%2Fwicked-for-good-2025%2Fpage%2F4%2F

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 12/7/25 at 8:23am

New York TImes:

"Cynthia Erivo loves to read while getting tattoos"

Interesting to read her responses to the weekly Book Review interview questions.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 12/7/25 at 8:21pm

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "This past weekend, Wicked: For Good saw a 57% drop at the box office.
https://x.com/GiteshPandya/status/1995158957225075109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1995158957225075109%7Ctwgr%5Ee8e6eea92940791c7519b2c2c962f0551d80b6c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goldderby.com%2Ftopic%2Fwicked-for-good-2025%2Fpage%2F4%2F"

Last Thursday we were 2 out of 3 people in our DC multiplex. Loved part 1, but this felt so long. And just how many endings can 1 movie have? 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 12/7/25 at 8:50pm

SisterGeorge said: "Just how many endings can 1 movie have?"

In Musical Hell's review of the first Mamma Mia! film, she that "When you're wrapping up a 10-hour trilogy (like Lord of the Rings), you can justify spending time 15 minutes on the conclusion. For something that doesn't even break two hours, it's a bit excessive."

Updated On: 12/7/25 at 08:50 PM

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 8:58am

Well very little love from the Golden Globes compared to last year. 

[Kad]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 10:17am

It’s not so surprising considering the less enthusiastic response across the board. I think Grande, Erivo, and a song nomination are pretty safe bets for Oscar nods, though. A nom for Tazewell seems like a decent bet, though after considering I’m less bullish on him and other technical awards- I feel like nominators could, not unreasonably, argue that these things were already rewarded for part one. 

Updated On: 12/8/25 at 10:17 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 11:49am

The WICKED films have now come and gone. The over saturation of press interviews and appearances are done and hopefully after the Oscars we can now move on from this WICKED bit. Curious what’s the next Broadway musical film adaptation slated for attacks? 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 11:52am

BrodyFosse123 said: "The WICKED films have now come and gone. The over saturation of press interviews and appearances are done and hopefully after the Oscars we can now move on from this WICKED bit. Curious what’s the next Broadway musical film adaptation slated for attacks?"

After the Actors on Actors yesterday, I want Jonny Bailey and David Corenswet in Guys & Dolls ASAP.

[joevitus]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 12:56pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "The WICKED films have now come and gone."

Cinema listings still have it playing here. Is this maybe wishful thinking on your part?

[James885]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 3:21pm

I finally saw this over the weekend. I thought it was fine, but definitely not as good as part 1. This felt a lot more padded and bloated and I agree with those who say it amplified the problems with second act of the show. Erivo was great, but I thought Ariana Grande was stellar, as was Jonathan Bailey. 
 

The new songs were merely OK. They may get nominated for an Oscar, but there’s no way either of them wins over ‘Golden’ from K-Pop Demon Hunters.

Updated On: 12/8/25 at 03:21 PM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 3:30pm

Erivo getting nominated for the Oscar is likely to not happen, IMO. She’s been getting shut out A LOT and I don’t think her nomination at the Globes means a thing.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/8/25 at 3:51pm

So Erivo just got her Golden Globe nomination. WTF?!