After For Good, I Have No Confidence In Wicked 3

Two Ozian guards restraining a furious Elphaba in Wicked For Good

By Alex Harrison Published 4 minutes ago Alex is the Senior Movies Editor, managing the New Movies team, as well as one of ScreenRant's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in English, he spent a locked-down year in Scotland completing a Master's in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, which he hears is a nice, lively city. He now lives in and works from Milan, Italy, conveniently a short train ride from the Venice Film Festival, which he first covered for SR in 2024. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

It's only natural for Universal to want more Wicked. After the smash success of Part One last year, Wicked: For Good opened last weekend to even better numbers. At $150 million domestic and $226 million worldwide, it set new records for a Broadway adaptation and became the studio's second-biggest domestic opening ever, behind only the first Jurassic World. And while critics aren't as hot on it as the previous movie, For Good's A CinemaScore suggests word-of-mouth will be just as good as last year, when Wicked slid into Thanksgiving weekend with a remarkably strong hold.

Already, the studio is exploring its options. Universal's chief marketing officer, Michael Moses, has confirmed that multiple possible Wicked follow-ups are "underway." Unlike Dune, which faced similar demand for more after its two-part adaptation was finished, there isn't a clear path forward – there exists no sequel musical. But Gregory Maguire, who wrote the novel the musical was adapting, has penned sequels. And L. Frank Baum, whose books Maguire's Wicked was adapting, wrote several other Oz novels as well. "Because of Wicked's success but also the fanship," Moses said, "we have almost a responsibility to figure out how we can continue in this universe."

That's going to be a problem, though, and Moses' own words hint at why. Wicked isn't a universe in the way Universal is hoping. And one of Wicked: For Good's biggest flaws tells me they'll struggle to recapture the magic fans would want from another movie, be it prequel, sequel, or spinoff.

Wicked 3's Success Depends Entirely On Its Music

Glinda leaning her head on Elphaba in close-up in Wicked For Good

A lot of the social media discussion about Wicked: For Good in the past few days has been confusion over its relationship with The Wizard of Oz. The reveal of the Scarecrow as Fiyero, for example, fits strangely with the 1939 movie's Wicked Witch frequently setting him on fire. But the two storylines aren't really meant to line up, because the chain of adaptation isn't so simple. In fact, trying to unpack it all gets messy very quickly.

The result of all that messiness is that Wicked the movie is adapting Wicked the musical, specifically. The relationship people have to the material can't really be traced back to Baum, Maguire, or Judy Garland. To continue this "universe" in the way people want from it, it needs to expand the stage production first and foremost, even if by pulling material from the other sources.

That means new songs. And after Wicked: For Good, I'm not convinced they can pull it off.

The marketing made much ado over having brought back original composer Stephen Schwartz to write two new songs, one each for Elphaba and Glinda, after having only stuck to the musical's tracks in Wicked: Part One. It made sense on paper: Act II had room for a more padded runtime, and they could conveniently qualify Wicked: For Good for the Best Original Song category at the Oscars, which wasn't among the first movie's ten nominations.

But the result was decidedly underwhelming. Narratively, they only served to kill momentum, cutting unnecessarily into a story already structured. But more concerningly, the songs themselves felt just as out of place. As someone invested in awards season, I was curious to see if KPop Demon Hunters and Sinners would spoil a category earmarked for Wicked since last year, but now I'm not even sure it deserves to be considered a real competitor for them.

Wicked is one of Broadway's most enduringly popular musicals because it's enormously fun to listen to, and along with the irresistable performances of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the films are successful because they deliver that same joy. Expanding the universe would mean Wicked 3 is another musical just as accomplished, and that's a tall order – especially for a franchise machine desperate to strike while the iron is hot.

12 9.5/10

8/10

Wicked: For Good

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG Drama Fantasy Romance Release Date November 21, 2025 Runtime 137 Minutes Director Jon M. Chu Writers Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire Producers Marc Platt, David Stone

11 Images

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) with a thoughtful frown in Wicked: For Good

Glinda (Ariana Grande) smiling in Wicked: For Good Glinda (Ariana Grande) carefully putting on her crown in her room in Wicked: For Good.

Glinda (Ariana Grande) putting on her crown in Wicked: For Good

Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) playing in a marching band in Wicked: For Good

Glinda (Ariana Grande) walking down the aisle surrounded by yellow butterflies in Wicked: For Good

Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) staring into each other’s eyes up close in Wicked: For Good

Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) flying on her broom in Wicked: For Good

Wicked For Good Teaser Thumbnail

Glinda (Ariana Grande) clutching a book to her chest in Wicked: For Good

Glinda (Ariana Grande) floating inside a shimmering bubble in Wicked: For Good

Glinda (Ariana Grande) looking thoughtful in Wicked: For GoodClose

Cast

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Cynthia Erivo Elphaba
Ariana Grande Glinda

Prequel(s) Wicked Genres Drama, Fantasy, Romance Powered by

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