As highly anticipated by fans around the world, the first trailer for the musical blockbuster Wicked: For Good was released two days ago. This comes only three months after Wicked (2024) took home two Academy Awards for best Production and Costume Design out of a staggering ten nominations at the 2025 Oscars and became the highest-grossing musical film adaptation in history. It serves as the second installment in a two-part film series to a predecessor that undoubtedly became a pop culture phenomenon: a politically charged and sharp fantasy spectacle with its finger on the pulse of time that instigated a viral press tour, inspired dance trends, and ignited endless attempts at the infamous battle cry vocal riff in Cynthia Erivo’s version of Defying Gravity that were as inescapable as they were irresistible.
Luckily, this trailer feels more like a self-assured assertion of artistic integrity and character, perfectly catered to the audience’s trust and undying passion, rather than a nervously amped-up teasing of new material hoping to fill – if not outshine – the big ruby slippers of Part One. The film knows its audience and most of the audience already knows the second Act of Wicked. The trailer isn’t measured by what it hints at as much as by what it promises to be faithful to and excel in. It hits all the right beats, and succeeds in stirring up the excitement fans already have for the project by reminding them what’s about to come and showing them the craftsmanship with which it has been done: Elphaba exiled in the Ozian forest as the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda glamorously flourishing at the Emerald City Palace, efforts at resistance and reconciliation, Dorothy on the yellow brick road, the wedding of Prince Fiyero and Glinda the Good as they both still harbor insurmountable love for Elphaba, moments of friendship that are fleeting, profound but fragmenting. And, of course, a first glimpse into Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s long-awaited rendition of For Good, together with the film’s core themes of friendship, systemic transformation, and personal growth.
Carrying this spirit over from the last film, Wicked: For Good appears to wholeheartedly embrace its genre and Broadway origins, to commit to the bit with love for details and dimension, to wear its influences on its sleeves and yet manage to come into its own. Unfortunately, the last few years have seen a series of falsely marketed, often held-back half-way musical film releases like Dear Evan Hansen (2021), Wonka (2023) and Mean Girls (2024) in a broader epidemic of hyper self-aware mainstream films seemingly incapable of committing to sincerity, tension, genuine humor, or emotional vulnerability without immediately reverting to irony as comedic relief. These disheartening times make such an open-chested and full-throated love song to both musical theater and film a refreshing and revitalizing moment in cinema, which is, as evidenced by the box-office numbers alone, widely received and appreciated by audiences. A standout moment towards the end of the trailer that’s strikingly emblematic of this is Grande’s impeccable delivery of “And I’ve had so many friends” as she does her signature hair toss. Her charming self-awareness serves the character growth here and strengthens the emotional stakes of the scene, rather than undermining them. If anything, it showcases a nuanced understanding of Glinda’s complicated relationship to popularity, her sincere companionship with Elphaba and her simultaneous complicity in the “Wicked Witch’s” public demonization. In the scope of just six words, giggles and gut-wrenching tears go hand-in-hand as comedy and drama will hopefully continue to do in this last Act.
On first sight, it may seem like Wicked: For Good is just another sequel to another adaptation (Wicked: Part One) of an adaptation (Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz) of a spin-off (Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) to an adaptation (The Wizard of Oz) of a novel (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz). Another calculated output of content in an exhausting cultural climate of short attention spans and micro trends that lead to hectic productions and quick consumption. Another commodity in an oversaturated market with a habit of moving on carelessly at a racing and reckless pace. Another contribution to the landscape in which big studio films seemingly mutate into big recycling machines spitting out reused formulas, familiar materials drenched in nostalgia and remnants of references, all blurring into a trans-textual, eerily self-conscious mass of postmodern adaptations, adaptations of adaptations, prequels and sequels, brands and cinematic universes that are entirely uprooted from any essence or originality in their misjudged quest for expansion. A certain adaptation and franchise fatigue certainly can’t be denied or neglected as the immediate context in which Wicked exists. But this two-part film series appears to be a welcome exception in its attuned understanding of the cinematic medium and its genuine love for the source material.
One small example of this is the stunning choice of Composer Stephen Schwartz and Director Jon M. Chu to add the repeated “Unlimited” section in Defying Gravity during the first film’s grand finale that relishes the sheer joy of flying and the exhilarating freedom that comes with it – a defining moment that simply couldn’t be expressed this way in a stage production. The film masters its language and potential by allowing itself to linger and not to rush. Similarly, Chu made the big choice to split the two Acts into two films during pre-production to give the characters, song numbers, and narrative arcs as much room to breathe as they needed to truly come alive on screen. It seems, even before it became a cultural sensation to do so, the film was already holding space for itself.
After winning Tony and Grammy awards and breaking box-office records on the West End and Broadway, Wicked has long inspired countless stage iterations around the world, and the cult following it has garnered in the process has called for a high-budget and timeless screen interpretation for the entire two decades of the musical’s longevity.
And so, this second installment may prove to showcase a wonderful way of keeping a cinematic era alive over the span of at least two years, maintaining momentum and yet never sacrificing cohesion, comprehensiveness or concision to do so. The time has certainly come for us to hold space once again, to hold each other’s pinkies as we witness the world changing for good on November 21, 2025 – for better, or for worse.