Spoilers for Wicked: For Good follow.
Wicked: For Good has finally flown to cinemas this past weekend as the musical adaptation has released its emotional conclusion. Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, the follow-up to 2024's Wicked has brought the second act of the musical to the big screen with a few tweaks.
In the Jon M Chu-directed sequel, a final scene suggests that Erivo's Elphaba might've transferred her magical abilities to Grande's Glinda.
The director weighed in on the significance of the sequence, which sees Glinda taking the Grimmerie that had been gifted to her by Elphaba before she took off on her broom.
Previously only coming to life for Elphaba, the book now opens for Glinda, suggesting her best friend has passed to her some magical powers.
"Elphaba giving Glinda the book is her saying, 'You know the power that you have, and you know the truth'," Chu told Entertainment Weekly.
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In a way, fans were right in spotting the connection, though Chu explained that there is no clear-cut answer as to what happens to Glinda.
"But there's no answer at the end of this movie. It's a challenge: 'What are you going to be?' We don't know what Glinda does. We just know the possibilities are beautiful," he said.
The filmmaker also addressed the final shot of For Good, a homage to the iconic poster of the 2003 musical by Stephen Schwartz.
The sequel ends on a frame of Glinda whispering in Elphaba's ear, just like Glinda the Good does with the Wicked Witch in the poster.
For Chu, there wasn't any other way to end this epic two-part adaptation, though keeping it a secret until the last shot proved challenging.
"Yes. It was always the plan. I was always going to end on the whisper," he told Business Insider.
"Do you know how hard it was to force Universal to never use it in any marketing material? [Laughs.] They even had a poster of it for the first movie, and I was like, 'Why are we releasing this poster? We should never acknowledge the whisper. Never. Never.'"
"I wanted it to feel like we didn't care about it, then suddenly it's the last shot in For Good. So the studio never saw that final shot. I imposed a huge thing: 'Do not show this shot!' They wanted it so badly."
Wicked: For Good is out in cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
