At last the wait is over and the most ozmopolitan and fabulotious film of the year is here. Let us be glad that they recorded the duology in such quick succession. The first Wicked movie was extremely popular, it was a major box office success and the highest grossing film adaption of a broadway musical, so it goes without saying that Wicked: For Good had some huge (ruby red) shoes to fill.
While highly anticipated, fans of Wicked the musical and the Wizard of Oz were a little concerned that Wicked: For Good might stray too far from what we know and love in terms of score, soundtrack and storyline. There weren’t many songs from the musical left to incorporate, and word had spread that the writers and composers intended on filling that space with new songs.
As we learned from Disney’s 2025 adaptation of the beloved Snow White, this is a very dangerous move. Tampering with such a tried and true set of music can easily derail your entire film and leave fans incredibly disappointified.
I have some excellent news, not only were the songs and scores added a perfect fit to the world of Wicked, but they were written and composed by Stephen Schwartz, the original lyricist for the Wicked musical, for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Schwartz took the opportunity to tell more of the story in the Wicked books with his music, to build more upon the world he created and flesh out the characters within just a little more, and I truly think this was such a tasteful way to go about altering an existing narrative and setlist.
There was no frettifying on this front, just anticipatoring what the designer Paul Tazewell would bring to life next. Tazewell has won many awards for his works, including Tonys for his costumes in Hamilton and Death Becomes Her, and among many other awards, an Oscar for his work in West Side Story.
Tazewell also won an Oscar for his designs in the first Wicked film so of course everyone was stoked to see what he would come up with for the sequel and there is no doubt in my mind that this man destroyed the challenge.
An interesting bit of information, because the movies were filmed so close together that meant the costumes for both films had to be designed and completed within a very similar timeframe not only for the deadline of the second film’s release, but also for consistency among the garments.
Tazewell had an incredifying amount of work on his plate and yet he still delivered the most stunning gowns for Galinda and Elphaba and the most immersive outfits for the green guard, the Ozians and the munchkins. Each piece felt like it truly belonged among the vibrant and unique world of Wicked, except of course for Elphaba’s wardrobe, which really hones in on how differencified she is.
All in all, Wicked: For Good was such a beautifully crafted film with some amazing talent in every single category. From actors to set designers and CGI artists (though, let’s not forget much of the set and props were real including 9 million real tulips grown in Norfolk, England just for the film). I have no choice but to highly recommend this film, without spoiling anything I can safely say that I was crying throughout.
