Ahead of Wicked: For Good's release, the biggest mystery was about who was playing Dorothy, with the leading contender being Alisha Weir. Even after seeing the movie, you might be none-the-wiser about who's playing her since we never actually see Dorothy's face.
Fans of the musical will know that even though Dorothy plays a part, you don't get to actually see her on stage. Whenever somebody interacts with Dorothy, they're talking to somebody off-stage and during the most pivotal moment, you only get to see Dorothy's silhouette. The same is true in Wicked: For Good, as we never get to see Dorothy's face (more on the reasons why in a bit) during the movie.
Now that Wicked: For Good is out in cinemas, we can confirm that Dorothy is played by Bethany Weaver, marking her movie debut. (Technically, Wicked was her actual movie debut, as we see Dorothy briefly at the start of the first movie.)
Who is Bethany Weaver?
Bethany Weaver is a British dancer, choreographer and actor who has previously choreographed Asmahan – Life and Music, which played at London's Peacock Theatre earlier this summer, and also starred as part of the ensemble in the likes of Broken Wings and Oklahoma! The Musical.
Her casting in Wicked and Wicked: For Good had already been confirmed on her Spotlight page, but her role as Dorothy was kept a secret until the new movie started screening. You'd have to look in the credits though because, as mentioned above, we never see her face in the movie.
As it turns out, Weaver 'manifested' the role in Wicked as when news of her casting was confirmed earlier this week, she reshared a video of her performing 'The Wizard and I' from March 2022 which she captioned: "It's not perfect but brings me such joy 🌻 also aggressively manifesting that one day I will be in Wicked!"
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Well, she might not be Elphaba, but it certainly worked. Since the movie's release, Weaver has shared a series of set photos on Instagram, writing: "This has been a life-changing experience. It's changed me in so many ways and most importantly, for good.
"It's been an honour to carry the legacy of the brilliant women before me who have stepped into these shoes, and embarked on the yellow brick road. I hope I have made them proud. Thank you for the sheer volume of love, kind messages and support from all of my friends and family and the glorious wicked fans, I love you all so much! Lots of love, your friend, Dorothy."
Why don't we see Dorothy's face in Wicked: For Good?
Ahead of Wicked: For Good's release, director Jon M Chu outlined why the movie adaptation followed in the footsteps of the musical by keeping Dorothy largely hidden from the audience's view.
"I didn't want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with," he told People, adding that the new movie "is still Elphaba and Glinda's journey, and [Dorothy] is a pawn in the middle of all of it".
It's a decision that met the approval of Cynthia Erivo. "I think that's such a wonderful thing to do," she said in a separate interview. "Because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know."
It could have been different though as Chu told Business Insider that they considered showing Dorothy's face. "We had opportunities to show more, and we shot some things where you could see her face, but our intention, from the beginning, was not to show her face," he explained.
"But was I sure of that choice? We did get options for it, but every time, it was a distraction. The thing we went by the whole time was something from the stage show. They told us, 'It's about the girls!' Whatever is happening, it's about the girls. So every time it drew us to, 'What does Dorothy think?', we reminded ourselves of that.
Wicked: For Good is out now in cinemas.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
