The iconic duo is back on screen with the release of Wicked: For Good, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Being one of the most awaited movies of 2025, the sequel of Wicked presented itself as a movie that digs deeper into Glinda and Elphaba’s adventures in Oz. The movie’s plot navigates fighting against the Wizard of Oz as well as friendship. Through the twists and challenges, Elphaba manages to escape Oz with her love interest Fiyero, while Glinda reveals the Wizard’s wrongdoing and promotes animal rights. This new movie was a box office hit and raked in two hundred twenty three million dollars on its opening weekend. After being translated into several different languages and brought into sixteen countries, Wicked For Good is considered a tremendous success. Although a hit, students at Palisade noted that the storytelling and music was average compared to the first movie, but the film production and graphics were just as good. “I think it was pretty awesome,” commented Eve Benner, a Freshman at Palisade. “I think the first one was better [and I] prefer the songs in the first [movie] though. I think the graphics and photos were pretty good. It was really good quality.”As it turned out, the crew in charge of set design spared no expense on making the set look as authentic as it could be. For both Wicked movies only, there were nine million real tulips planted to give the whimsical Oz look, and over 1,000 costumes made.
Although the movie was great, the audience seemed to have noticed that the cast overall for Wicked have been looking and acting out of place since the filming has started. The rumors that circulated social media claimed that the cast had lost a considerable amount of weight. This accusation led to the assumption that Wicked had taken a negative toll on the actors. This suspicion seemed to be confirmed when interviews asked Erivo and Grande different questions about the film production and they sobbed on camera. On the flip side, many found the interview to be heartfelt and full of emotion, and commented that the weight loss comments were out of place and not their business. Whether or not the concerns are true, no one can deny that the movie delivered a stunning performance.
Whether you’re a Broadway enthusiast and wanted to see the film adaptation, or just were curious about seeing the movie, Wicked: For Good captivated audiences and made some feel like they were defying gravity.
