The successful Wicked musical has been adapted into a movie series over the past two years. November 2024 saw the release of the first Wicked movie, receiving tremendous success at the box office as social media blew up with talk of the movie’s main duo, Elphaba and Glinda. November 2025 saw the release of the second movie, Wicked: For Good, instantly becoming a major hit and grossing over $518 million worldwide in just the first six weeks. It is the 13th highest-grossing film of 2025.
With the massive success of the first movie, the sequel Wicked: For Good had a high bar to surpass. After many Wicked fans went to see the movie, they had mixed opinions about how well it served as a sequel and how well it represented the original premise of the story, shown in the Broadway musical and the novel.
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Julie Devine, a Wicked lover and senior at Danbury High School, went to see the movie on premiere night at AMC Theaters on November 21, 2025. She has been a long-time fan of the musical and has kept track of the surviving storyline through the movies. Devine thought the sequel was successful in wrapping up the plot, commenting, “I did think the movie was successful, but I also just think Act 2 is better than Act 1 in the musical.” She personally feels that the second movie was better than the first, primarily for this same reason.
Similar to the original Wicked, the main character, Elphaba, and the supporting character, Glinda, face many challenges and tests of their friendship. The iconic pair’s friendship is fractured due to differences in duty and ideals, including Elphaba leaving Oz to fight the oppression of animals and Glinda taking on the role of the Good Witch alongside Madame Morrible and the Wizard. The second movie is responsible for mending that relationship as the story begins to wrap up. When asked how the pair has evolved from the first to the second movie, Devine noted, “I like Glinda a lot more in the second movie. The only thing I dislike about Glinda and Elphaba’s dynamic is them fighting over Fiyero–– I just don’t like it.”
The second movie also has the responsibility of integrating the Wizard of Oz plotline, specifically regarding Dorothy’s interactions with the modern Elphaba and Glinda. It provides a new perspective on the beloved classic, supplying more context for the characters of the “Wicked” and “Good” Witches. Devine said the movie handled this well, adding, “I think they did pretty good and there weren’t many problems, but it’s pretty obvious it wasn’t canon to The Wizard of Oz.”
As a fan of The Wizard of Oz as well, Devine is familiar with the plot and couldn’t help noticing differences between the 1930s movie and its integration into For Good.
The movie adaptation also had a massive role to play in representing the beloved musical and novel as faithfully as possible. Many fans went to see the movie because of how much they loved the stage production. The first movie was widely acclaimed as a fresh and successful adaptation of the story and characters audiences already knew and loved. The second movie carried the same expectation to fulfill: would it do the novel and musical justice? Devine thought yes, believing that “it really represented what the original story was all about.”
Many viewers have also noted the movie’s commentary on the subjectivity of good and evil, political manipulation, prejudice, and the power of true friendship. When reflecting on which themes were most prevalent in the movie, Devine said, “I thought all of these main themes were prevalent in the movie. ‘No Place Like Home’ reminds me of America.” She thought the movie did a great job of representing political manipulation, specifically when the Wizard attempts to convince Oz that all animals are evil.
Wicked: For Good also did not change Devine’s perception of the movie adaptations overall. She commented, “I don’t think it changed my perception much. I stay loving it. I LOVE Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey, so I think that’s one of the main reasons I was drawn to the movie.” Her favorite part of the second movie was when “Cynthia Erivo/Elphaba sang ‘No Good Deed’,” referencing how good deeds often ironically result in negative consequences.
Devine’s final thoughts centered on how the Wicked and Wizard of Oz storylines intersected. She explained that “it was really funny realizing that Dorothy was listening to Glinda the Good Witch begging the Bad Witch not to sacrifice herself. The Wizard of Oz and the Wicked plot coming together to show that subjectivity of good versus evil was interesting and ironic to see.”
No matter how accurate or inaccurate, the movie adaptations have been a beautiful journey, uniting longtime Wicked fans globally and creating new fans alike. Commentary on various themes relevant to today’s world and subtle Wizard of Oz easter eggs have kept moviegoers invested in the ins and outs of this fresh revival of the storyline. As Devine said, “It’s definitely going to go down as one of the first movie adaptations from a Broadway show that engaged regular people too and not just movie fanatics.”
