British actress Cynthia Erivo, US singer-songwriter Ariana Grande and other cast members attend the premiere of ‘Wicked: For Good’ at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York. Photo: AFP
LOS ANGELES:
Universal Pictures’ second adaptation of the Broadway hit ‘Wicked’, titled ‘Wicked: For Good’, hits theatres worldwide this week, offering audiences a deeper, darker take on the beloved prequel to ‘The Wizard of Oz’.
Critics initially questioned splitting the musical into two films, but the move has allowed the filmmakers to broaden the story far beyond the stage production. The film revisits the arrival of Dorothy in Oz, expanding one of cinema’s most iconic moments and adding two new original songs.
Ariana Grande, reprising her role as Glinda, said the additional runtime allows audiences to “see beneath the bubbly, shiny, perfect exterior” and explore her character’s past. Her new song, The Girl in the Bubble, examines Glinda’s unexpected dark history, while Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba navigates life in exile as a rebel unfairly labelled the evil witch.
The story picks up years after the first ‘Wicked’, showing Glinda as the poster girl of the Wizard’s regime, a position that brings privilege but also guilt and isolation. Grande, already an Oscar nominee for the first film, remains a strong contender, while Erivo’s new song ‘There’s No Place Like Home’ reinforces her best actress prospects.
Producers say the two-film structure has also allowed a richer overlap between ‘Wicked’ and the 1939 ‘Wizard of Oz’ film. Dorothy, largely absent in the Broadway musical, appears multiple times in ‘For Good’, though her face remains obscured to underscore her role as a pawn in Oz’s political machinations.
“We had more time to explore how the two stories collide,” said producer Marc Platt. The first ‘Wicked’ film grossed over $750 million globally, and Universal is banking on audiences returning to see the wizard one more time.
