WICKED: FOR GOOD Drops Wickedly Good First Trailer
Few shows have ever been or will likely ever be as highly anticipated as Wicked: For Good. As the second half of Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the Broadway stage show, itself a loose adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, it hits a sweet spot of fandoms. With powerhouse stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande portraying protagonist Elphaba Thropp and initial rival and later friend Glinda Upland, respectively, the film's musical pedigree is anchored. Indisputably, Chu's vision of Oz is a worthy heir to 1939's The Wizard of Oz, a groundbreaking piece of cinema when it first premiered.
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Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters on November 21. Wicked: Part 1 ended with Elphaba breaking away from the pack, rejecting the Wizard's (Jeff Goldblum) offer to help subjugate Oz under his rule with her powers. Always able to pivot, the Wizard turns her into a villain he can pit the people against. This buoys his popularity and distracts from the real problems in Oz. Image Credit: Universal Pictures Wicked: For Good
At the heart of the story is Elphaba and Glinda's friendship, painted on the lore established in The Wizard of Oz . Wicked: For Good picks up with Oz's residents taking up arms and a contagious mob mentality against Elphaba, now branded by the Wizard as 'The Wicked Witch of the West.' Glinda has retained a place of societal status. Secretly, she remains friends with Elphaba. Meanwhile, the magnificent Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) continues to spin her spells on the Wizard's behalf. Image Credit: Universal Pictures
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Glinda's popularity and social savviness make her the obvious choice as the Wizard poster girl for 'Good.' This includes marrying Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), now the head of the Wizard's army, and appearing to be as magical as Elphaba thanks to the Wizard's gadgetry. Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Elphaba lives a solitary life, hiding from the Wizard while honing her powers with the help of the Grimmerie, the tome of magical knowledge. Unseen in the trailer are her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and the Munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater). As tragic as their story is, one wonders if it'll factor into Chu's narrative. There are, however, many Animals in what can only be assumed to be a revolution of sorts. World Building
Brilliantly, Wicked: Part 1 and Wicked: For Good not only build the backstory for the familiar characters and relationships of Oz, they literally lay the foundation for major infrastructure developments. The Wizard understands the benefits of keeping the populace busy, after all. In the trailer, we see Elphaba lay a hand on the gold-painted bricks that eventually form that infamous road to the Emerald City. Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Perhaps the most tantalizing scenes in the trailer are those of Dorothy Gale (Alisha Weir). Two iconic moments are reimagined for Wicked fans. There's a far-away shot of Dorothy setting out on her journey with Toto and some enthusiastic Munchkins (presumably after parking her house on Nessarose). The one that sent chills down my spine is the four of them standing in front of the Wizard's mechanical talking head. Remembering the anxiety the original characters felt in The Wizard of Oz , it's pretty horrifying to realize the man behind the puppetry is much scarier. Image Credit: Universal Pictures
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There's also an enigmatic shot of the silver slippers as someone walks across a wet floor wearing them. Is it Dorothy (as the ankle socks seem to indicate), or could it be that moment for Nessarose? Get Ready to Thank Goodness
The nearly three-minute-long trailer packs in a lot of plot points. One slightly spoilery one shows Fiyero revealing his true allegiance. What isn't rushed is the lavish production value. The sweeping shots of the lavish setting are just as breathtaking as Wicked: Part 1. And, of course, soundtracking it with clips of Erivo's 'No Good Deed' and Grande's 'For Good' only stokes the flames of fan fervor.
Can Wicked: For Good defy gravity even more than Wicked: Part 1 did? Besides dropping this trailer, the publicity team also opened the soundtrack's pre-save option online.
Wicked: For Good hits theaters November 21.
Cecilia Lee on the Wild Ride That Is FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN Diana lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she invests her time and energy in teaching, writing, parenting, and indulging her love of all Trek and a myriad of other fandoms. She is a lifelong fan of smart sci-fi and fantasy media, an upstanding citizen of the United Federation of Planets, and a supporter of AFC Richmond 'til she dies. Her guilty pleasures include female-led procedurals, old-school sitcoms, and Bluey. She teaches, knits, and dreams big. You can also find her writing at The Televixen, Women at Warp, TV Fanatic, and TV Goodness.
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