Wicked has left us all desperate to return to the Yellow Brick Road for Wicked: Part 2 next year.
While you might think you know the story of Glinda and Elphaba thanks to The Wizard of Oz, Wicked is a very different take on the movie and Frank L Baum's original text, and the first movie only tells half the story.
If you've never seen the Broadway musical or read Gregory Maguire's book that inspired it, then Wicked will have left you with many questions, including about Elphaba's fate. After all, the movie starts in the aftermath of Elphaba's apparent melting.
And if you just can't wait one year to find out what happens, then we're here to help with what happens in Wicked: Part 2 – assuming, that is, the sequel follows the musical.
Major spoilers ahead for the musical (and likely for Wicked 2).
Who plays Dorothy in Wicked Part 2?
With Judy Garland's legendary performance putting The Wizard of Oz on the map, it's no surprise that Dorothy Gale has a part to play in Wicked: Part 2.
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Despite not physically appearing in the Broadway show, Dorothy appears in Wicked's opening scene, although she's shot from behind and remains uncredited.
After opening on Elphaba's hat floating in a puddle, director Jon M Chu has referred to the Dorothy cameo as visiting the "most famous crime scene ever in cinema and literature", telling Variety that her inclusion is to reiterate Wicked isn't a dream like The Wizard of Oz might imply.
There's no official word on who will be playing Dorothy in part two, and even though Chu told ScreenRant he didn't want to 'step on' our ideas of who she is, he suggested she'll have a bigger role.
"The presence is important because that plays a significant role in what will happen and how they intersect. That was sort of how we played with it. But you'll have to see movie two to know how far we go with her," he explained.
After Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman teased they're working on something else in this universe, but it's not called Wicked: Part 3, there's rampant speculation that we're gearing up for another The Wizard of Oz remake before its 100th anniversary.
This would explain why Chu gave us a Dorothy cameo, as well as those fan rumours that Abigail's Alisha Weir played the girl from Kansas in the already-filmed sequel and potentially beyond.
Who is Elphaba's father?
One of the mysteries hanging over from Wicked is who Elphaba's real father is, because we know it isn't Governor Thropp (Andy Nyman).
It takes until near the end of the musical to reveal that Elphaba's father is none other than The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). When Elphaba is 'melted' (more on that later), the only two things left behind are her hat and a bottle of Green Elixir.
The Wizard knows that the elixir is his and Glinda works out that he is the man that had an affair with Elphaba's mother. It was because of this elixir that Elphaba was born green as her mother was drinking it when she became pregnant.
Those familiar with Goldblum's mannerisms might have made this connection already during Wicked's flashback to Mrs Thropp having an affair with a travelling salesman. You don't see his face, but if you know, it's obviously that it's Goldblum.
Who is the Tin Man?
While the Cowardly Lion doesn't play much of a part in Wicked (although it is the cub rescued by Elphaba and Fiyero), the characters of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow unknowingly have a much more prominent role.
Both characters comes with their own tragic twist – and it's not looking good for Ethan Slater's Boq Woodsman.
Wicked already foreshadows Boq's transformation into the Tin Man due to mentions of how he likes to cry a lot despite his seeming lack of heart. With Boq too busy trying to gain Glinda's affection, he carelessly discards the feelings of Elphaba's sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode).
In Act Two of Wicked, Nessarose becomes the Governor of Munchkinland following the death of her father. Boq effectively becomes her love slave, but announcing he has feelings for Glinda, an enraged Nessarose casts a love spell on him from Elphaba's Grimmerie.
Due to Nessarose lacking the magical abilities of her sister, it backfires and causes Boq's heart to shrink. As Wicked warns us that no spell from the Grimmerie can be reversed, Elphaba has to save Boq's life by casting another spell.
Although this one stops his need for a heart, it puts him to sleep and turns him into the Tin Man we know from Baum's book and The Wizard of Oz.
By the time we get to the events of The Wizard of Oz in Act Two of Wicked, a disillusioned Tin Man blames Elphaba for his condition and joins the hunt against her.
Who is the Scarecrow?
Seeing Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion walking on the Yellow Brick Road after Elphaba's 'death' (more on that in a minute), you might think you know how the story ends.
As fans of the musical know though, there's another traumatic turn which reveals that Jonathan Bailey's Fiyero is the character we know as the Scarecrow.
Similar to Boq's foreshadowing, there are plenty of teases about what happens to Fiyero. As well as the song 'Dancing Through Life' which includes the lyrics, "Life's more painless for the brainless", Elphaba tells Fiyero to 'get stuffed' when she first meets him.
Act Two of Wicked picks up with Fiyero appointed the Captain of the Guard and hunting for Elphaba. In reality, Fiyero is working to rescue Elphaba, which culminates in him helping her escape and the Wizard's guards stringing him up in a cornfield for his betrayal.
At her castle in Kiamo Ko, Elphaba casts a spell to keep Fiyero safe, but in a Monkey's Paw situation, it turns him into the brainless Scarecrow who can't be harmed. The stage show ends with Scarecrow Fiyero leaving the Emerald City and reuniting with Elphaba for a happy ending... sort of.
Does Elphaba die?
The biggest change from Baum's book and The Wizard of Oz is the fate of Elphaba.
Everyone remembers the scene where Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West kicks the bucket (quite literally) in the movie, and with Wicked's opening scene, audiences are tricked into thinking the same will happen in the musical.
Instead, Elphaba gets something of a happy ending thanks to faking her death and hiding under a trapdoor.
That's not before Glinda accidentally causes heartache for Elphaba. Glinda suggests that the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) spread a rumour about Nessarose's safety to lure Elphaba back.
They take it one step further though with Morrible unleashing her control of the weather to devastating effect.
Nessarose is killed when Dorothy Gale's house is dropped on her as a result of Morrible's spell, which brings Elphaba out of hiding and into a story that runs (loosely) concurrently with The Wizard of Oz.
Like Wicked makes a reference to keeping Elphaba safe from the rain, wild propaganda claims she can be killed by water. In reality, Dorothy throwing a bucket of water on Elphaba becomes part of a plan to save her.
Even though there are questions about the cloaked figure we see riding out of Kiamo Ko on horseback at the start of Wicked, the fact it features the Scarecrow alongside Dorothy means the logical choice is that this mystery rider is Elphaba after faking her death.
Even if Fiyero and Elphaba are likely to ride off into the sunset, Glinda might be left mourning the loss of her unrequited love and her BFF because the musical never makes it clear whether she's in on Elphaba's survival.
For more on Wicked, check out:
• When does Wicked Part 2 come out?
• A Wicked sceptic reviews the Wicked movie
• Wicked rights a long-running wrong of the musical
• Is Wicked available to stream?
• Does Wicked have a post-credits scene?
Wicked is out now in cinemas. Wicked: Part 2 is released in cinemas on November 21, 2025.
Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
