There’s no place like home — but what happens when home doesn’t feel like home anymore?
That’s the main theme in Wicked: For Good, especially in the two new songs Stephen Schwartz has written for the second half of Elphaba’s (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) story.
They’re questioning, ‘What is home? And what happens when you are fighting for a home that you realize doesn’t even want you there, or was never meant for you? Do you defend it? Do you fight for it? Does anyone else think of home the same as you? Those questions are very interesting and relevant to Elphaba’s journey. Glinda also has to figure out her own meaning of home, though in a very different way. Glinda is the one that has to ultimately pop her own bubble. She has to leave her privilege to actually see other people’s struggles and fight for justice and equality. Chu warns viewers not to take these songs as political or modern-day commentary. They do what timeless stories do.
director Jon M. Chu tells Entertainment Weekly, Chu says
They ask us elemental questions of being human, not just the great parts — the celebratory, joyful parts of being human — but the scary, dark parts that test us. Everybody thinks it’s about this time, and yet it’s about all time. We are a little bit good and we all are a little bit wicked, and how do we navigate that? For people who think the new songs are just trying for a Best Original Song award, Chu insists they’re needed for the story.
Even after we recorded them, even after we put them in the movie, we kicked the tires on them to make sure that we had to put them in this movie. Otherwise, it wasn’t worth it.
he says
The idea of home has always been key in The Wizard of Oz and its spin-offs like The Wiz or Wicked — so adding new songs to highlight that makes sense.
Both witches are trying to find their way home. Both of these songs are about how to do that, and it’s questions that I’ve always wanted to hear from them in the stage show, but never got to. We get to take our time and explore those questions.
Chu says
While fans know the stage version, For Good is less straightforward than the first movie. The second act of Wicked on stage is known for being rushed and less loved than the first. This gave Chu and the team room to rethink how to end the story.
Chu also hints at what’s ahead, along with new images. One big challenge in Act 2 is how little Elphaba and Glinda actually see each other. After “Defying Gravity,” Glinda mostly works with the Wizard, while Elphaba is on the run. Chu wanted to change that.
Read More: Michelle Yeoh Shares Why Wicked was Made in Two Parts: ‘There are so any Nuances…’
He says the film reunites them earlier than the stage show and gives them more scenes together.
What we really focused on was, no matter what, it’s always about either one of them or their relationship. What we discovered was, ‘It’s the girls, stupid!’ at every turn. So, when one’s going through something, there’s something that they’ve learned from the other that affects them, or the fact the other person is not there is part of what can’t get them to their goal. It’s always about them.
he explains
In For Good, both Glinda and Elphaba have moved on from Dear Old Shiz and into adulthood. Elphaba has to go it alone, while Glinda works for the Wizard with a big support team.
She’s no longer a student. She has progressed into working for the Wizard, and all of Oz are looking to her to represent goodness. Presenting that takes a lot of staff and a lot of infrastructure. She has to go around Oz and deliver goodness. Here, she is with her full staff that is helping her to spread goodness everywhere.
says Chu, the director explains
This includes Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and Shenshen (Bronwyn James), who are now part of her group. At the end of 2024’s Wicked, Elphaba fully accepted her powers and defied gravity. In For Good, she explores the limits — and costs — of that magic.
If you think she flew in the first movie, she flies. She’s now surrendered to who she is. Is it a blossoming? Absolutely. But she did not realize how lonely it would be to become who you are meant to be. Loneliness and doubt trouble her. Is your instinct right? Is what you believe actually the way it’s supposed to be? . She is struggling with that, but she comes into her full power. In ‘No Good Deed,’ she’s like, ‘You want me to be wicked? I’ll f—ing be wicked.’ And you get to see her become, for some moments, the Wicked Witch of the West that they want her to be.
teases Chu, Chu says
Just as Elphaba spoke out against the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), Glinda chose to go along — something she must face, especially as the government spreads lies about Elphaba.
I love this image of Glinda sitting on a throne, essentially, of propaganda flyers and falseness. She knows [these things are] not the truth about her friend. What does that make you feel when you realize you’re trapped and elevated by this lie? It calls into question where she stands.
says Chu
In the stage show, the Wizard doesn’t appear until the end, but For Good brings him forward as he builds the yellow brick road and leads the smear campaign against Elphaba.
Chu says the Wizard isn’t a typical villain but someone who thinks he’s doing good. He thinks people need a good story. He really believes that it’s for the good of Oz, and his story keeps getting bigger and bigger because it’s what provokes people. The yellow brick road is what he thinks as the Oz of tomorrow. The Oz of tomorrow will lead you right to him, and if it leads you to him, then you don’t have to ever fear anything else. He will protect you. He will give you your heart’s desire. The yellow brick road represents this idea of ‘Hey, don’t worry about anything else, just focus on doing your thing and walking the yellow brick road.’ It’s connecting everybody; he genuinely believes in it. Still, the Wizard is also tempted by power and attention. Once you get a taste of that power, how far will you go? How far will you go to entertain? And at what point have you gone too far?
Chu says, Chu continues
After the first movie, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) stays with Glinda, even though Elphaba stirred his heart and mind. His feelings about her and her bad reputation create a love triangle.
It’s more than just love. It’s about how you see the world. In Wicked, Elphaba breaks his brain when she calls him out in the forest. He has not stopped thinking about it, so much so that it may be driving him a little bit nuts. Yet, he feels so powerless for the first time in his life. He can’t just dance right through it.
adds Chu
His conflict is also tied to his role in the Wizard’s Guard, called the Gale Force (a nod to Dorothy Gale), while also being with Glinda.
The Gale Force’s job is to hunt down the Wicked Witch. We discover that he’s on that Gale Force to get to her first. Because if someone else gets to her, then who knows what will happen. So there’s a nobility in that, but also an ickiness. Both Glinda and him deal with the reality of what they have to do versus what they truly feel is right. They have two different philosophies, and they’re on a collision course here. Of course, bursting through the clouds is our Elphaba, who’s already made her decision and is just waiting for somebody to catch up.
Chu says
Fans of the stage show know that Fiyero does eventually join Elphaba in the love ballad “As Long As You’re Mine,” which Chu says will lean more into the romance than the stage version.
You finally get to feel the ascension that they give each other through the relationship.
As he puts it
Well, everyone deserves a chance to fly after all.
Wicked: For Good comes to theaters Nov. 21.
Source: EW