Oh, what a celebration Wicked fans will have today, as the first look at the Wicked: For Good poster has been spotted at CinemaCon.
The second installment in Jon M. Chu’s big screen adaptation of the award-winning Broadway musical is slated to arrive in theaters in November. In the poster, the two witches from Oz, Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda (formerly known as Galinda), stand atop their own cliff’s edge. The yellow brick road and the wizard’s palace in Oz, the setting for part one’s grand “Defying Gravity” finale, separates them in the middle.
Erivo’s Elphaba looks right at home in her full “wicked witch” glory, while Grande’s Glinda resembles the Glinda the Good fans of The Wizard of Oz are used to. The poster’s tagline, “You will be changed,” is a reference to the iconic duet from the Broadway musical and inspiration for the film’s title, “For Good.” The song is one of Wicked‘s most recognizable after “Defying Gravity.”
Wicked tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. Winnie Holzman, the stage production’s book writer, wrote the screenplay for Chu’s movie with Dana Fox. Academy Award-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz adapted the musical for the screen. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, on Broadway (and they appeared in surprise cameos during the “One Short Day” sequence in the Wicked movie).
Wicked ended with Erivo’s awe-inspiring performance of the stage show’s most well-known musical number, “Defying Gravity.” Since “Defying Gravity” serves as the end of the Broadway show’s first act, this Wicked ending helped to usher in Chu’s vision to break Act 1 and Act 2 into separate films. His version of Wicked stayed true to the stage musical, featuring little to no changes to the story’s overall plot.
Wicked‘s second act takes a darker turn from the bright poppy moments in the first act. “Defying Gravity,” in both the stage musical and film, serves as the moment that Elphaba “transforms” into the Wicked Witch of the West that Wizard of Oz fans know, with the added context that the Wizard and her mentor, Madame Morrible, played in the film by Michelle Yeoh, respectively, have branded her “wicked” after she refused to help their plot to strip rights away from the animals in Oz. Elphaba and Glinda, who spent the first act and film becoming unlikely friends, go their separate ways as Elphaba chooses to rebel against the Wizard and Glinda stays behind.
It’s unclear what changes, if any, will be made for Wicked: For Good. Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz, the musical’s original composer and lyricist, previously told The Hollywood Reporter that there would be two new songs that are an “important part of the story.” The stage musical’s second act takes place parallel to the events of the original Wizard of Oz; however, Dorothy and co. are only ever shown from behind or in silhouette in the stage musical.
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