Wicked: For Good, the anticipated sequel to the 2024 Box Office smash, Wicked, received an exciting update. The stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who'll reprise their respective roles as the witches Glinda and Elphaba, submerged the fans in a teaser that hinted at a darker and more mature theme for Wicked 2.
Before we fly into the teaser, Universal Pictures has a release date for the sequel set for Nov. 21, 2025, and like its predecessor, is expected to be another Box Office record breaker. While it will bring in families by the droves for its opening weekend and the following Thanksgiving weekend, Wicked: For Good might not be as pure as Wicked, but it's an imperative chapter for the Wizard of Oz franchise, as it will highlight the reasons of how Glenda and Elphaba became who they are, while fighting to keep their friendship secure.
Both Glenda and Elphaba will face ominous road blocks in the Wicked sequel
In the teaser, both Grande and Eviro, as well as the Wicked 2 director Jon Chu, spilled details about what's to come in Glenda and Elphaba's journey. Through the gorgeous displays of cinematography and contrasting wardrobes, it's apparent that the two women will experience shaky grounds. While the "fates" wish Glenda and Elphaba shouldn't be friends, as they're opposites, they're willing to defy the negative forces to be each other's companions.
"In Wicked for Good, [Glenda and Elphaba are] both stepping into this new space in their lives," Erivo says in the teaser clip. "And I think that actually makes them all the more powerful."
For her part, Grande shared her view on the witches' turning points, reflecting that they will undergo drastic changes. While life changes are normal, in Glenda and Elphaba's cases, they're more than just emotional and physical; these changes will ultimately define who they will become.
"As Elphaba and Glenda dive into Wicked for Good, much has changed."
Erivo added to her co-star's commentary, stating that they cannot return to the circumstances of the first film and will eventually have to accept their roles as the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North.
"They realize that what they had in film one can never come back again, and what they have to move into is something very different."
Director Chu emphasized that the journeys of the women will have mature values and the results of making difficult decisions, often leading to an unescapable abyss. Once you're there, everything will have to be remapped from that point forward.
"It's a much more mature emotional journey about the consequences of the of the hard choices that you make."
Watch the entire teaser below for even more Wicked 2 reveals.
As a fan of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, it has been a challenge for me to see how well Grande and Erivo could portray the characters made legendary by Margaret Hamilton and Billie Burke. Hamilton's version of the Wicked Witch was crafted by MGM to be a villainous and cruel character, to the extent that young audiences had trouble separating fiction from reality. To combat the dilemma, Hamilton made appearances on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood to explain that the Witch was just a character she portrayed and was nothing like who she was as a person.
Erivo had a much softer and kinder approach as Elphaba, and her version works for Chu's films because she's reflected as an individual who might have taken a dark and fearful path down that Yellow Brick Road. Obviously, the outcome for Elphaba won't be pleasant, but she'll just have to accept her fate.
Wicked: For Good is coming to theaters on Nov. 21, 2025.