Originally published to FOX5 Vegas on Nov. 20, 2025.

Wicked (2024) delivered a strikingly faithful screen translation of the Broadway musical’s first act, ending on a cliffhanger that sent audiences into a year-long intermission. Its partner film, Wicked: For Good, arrives with the weight of that anticipation, and the pressure to stick the landing.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande return as Elphaba and Glinda, joined again by Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, the romantic hinge of the story’s central triangle. The trio settles deeper into the roles introduced in the first film: Erivo remains a commanding force, while Grande softens the bubbly Glinda into something steadier without sacrificing charm. Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and Marissa Bode each add texture, but the spotlight never drifts far from the leading witches.

Last year, I praised Wicked for preserving the spirit of the stage show. That still holds. What’s changed is how conspicuously the non-Broadway material stands out. The moments pulled directly from the musical soar; the newly added connective tissue does not.

The classic numbers, “As Long As You’re Mine,” “No Good Deed,” and the titular tearjerker “For Good” are as effective on screen as they are on stage. Several plot beats not mentioned here for spoiler reasons also land with real impact.

But the film’s two original songs, Elphaba’s “No Place Like Home” and Glinda’s “The Girl in the Bubble,” highlight the divide between inspired adaptation and obligatory padding. The former is serviceable but extraneous. The latter stalls the film outright, arriving precisely when the story needs propulsion, not a pause.

Because of this, Wicked: For Good’s 137-minute runtime drags in ways the 2024 film, nearly half an hour longer, never did. It’s hard not to wonder whether the two-part structure was really warranted, or whether a single feature with an intermission might have avoided the bloat.

The sequel isn’t undone by its excess, but it’s certainly limited by it. Its ties to the 1939 Wizard of Oz are delightful, the leads continue to inhabit their characters with confidence, and the musical highs remain genuinely affecting. But with its added weight, Wicked: For Good ultimately lands at “very good” when it could have achieved “great.”