Enter Dorothy: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande Reveal First “Wicked: For Good” Footage at CinemaCon
Director Jon M. Chu took to the stage in Las Vegas to cast a spell over theater owners at this year’s CinemaCon by sharing footage from Universal’s hotly-anticipated sequel Wicked: For Good, the second part of Chu’s two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical, which itself was based on Gregory Maguire’s best-selling novel.
But Chu wasn’t the only one casting a spell—his stars, Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, and Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda, also took to the stage at the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace to unveil the footage. They were joined by producer Marc Platt, who told the crowd that they “took a shot” when they divided Wicked into two parts. “Now we have the privilege of doing it all again with Wicked: For Good in November.” Platt also added a note about what audiences can expect in the sequel. “The second film asks of them to go deeper to find more depth and more complexity and more profundity in those characters. What’s in store is going to astonish people.”
Erivo joked that she may have “snuck into a sing-along or two” during last year’s film, and that she was excited to get back on the road again for the sequel. “You cried—don’t lie,” she joked with the audience.
Wicked: For Good will also include Dorothy’s arrival, or, as Chu described the situation, “the girl from Kansas drops in.” The footage the Wicked: For Good team did indeed include the first glimpse at Dorothy, but, crucially, did not show her face. It also revealed golden bricks, flying monkeys, and a wedding.
“This is between the Wizard and I,” Erivo’s Elphaba tells Glinda in one scene in the footage. At another point, Glinda warns her friend, “Elphaba, they’re coming for you.”
Wicked: For Good will cast its spell in theaters on November 21, 2025, almost exactly a year after the first film landed in cinemas around the world and went on to become the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation ever.
For more from this year’s CinemaCon, check out these stories:
CinemaCon Captivated: Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” Promises Cinematic History
James Gunn’s “Superman” Soars for Warner Bros. at CinemaCon
“Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” Swinging Into Theaters in 2027
Featured image: L to R: Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu
