Wicked: For Good

Release date: 21 November 2025 (UK)

Director: Jon M. Chu

Running time: 2h 17m

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Jeff Goldblum

Music by: John Powell; Stephen Schwartz

Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Oh lordy, it was inevitably going to happen. I’ve been very skeptical about stage musicals on screen ever since the great Les Mis debacle, and this one has been aggressively blanket marketed at every possible opportunity for months, which of course is extremely off putting. I don’t think I feel particularly like a ‘mum’ yet (what does that mean??) but every time I see little Ariana Grande at a press event I want to put a big cosy jumper on her and have a gentle chat about nourishment.

a supremely uncomfortable looking sofa

In preparation for this great event, we have attempted to watch the first Wicked film, with varying levels of success. (One attempt was with three babies in the room at around 5pm, so I’m not sure what we were thinking?) I’m fairly sure I saw the show about 20 years ago and I have a dim memory of finding it a bit mind-blowing. Since then, of course, I have become a Serious Author and am therefore contractually obliged to be scathing about musicals, but you know what? When we finally managed to sit down and watch the film I had a very good time. Ariana is preppy and funny, Cynthia is sort of mesmerising and Michelle Yeo is there!

I do remain deeply skeptical about films split into multiples for nakedly profiteering reasons, and I think, even though it’s fun, Wicked is one of these. It’s not that there aren’t high stakes in this sequel, but much as it’s trying, no one really has much of a journey left to go on. The big gravity defying action has already happened, and much of what’s left to wrap up is the Wizard of Oz prequel stuff. Some of this - mainly the ‘why is there a wicked witch?’ content of film 1, is great, but it becomes a bit forced by the end. I think I would have more time for it (and by ‘it’, presumably I mean the novel?) if they just decided to ditch the whole tin man scarecrow lion stuff to be honest. And - side note - I simply cannot get past the fact that throughout ‘For Good’ - the highlight number of the film - Ariana and Cynthia have a teenage girl locked up in a basement??

Sign me up for this stunning dictatorship

ALSO I have a lot of questions about the lore - possibly it’s in there somewhere and the baby distracted me, but how exactly does this Oz place work? Some sort of dictatorship, presumably - but there’s something devolved going on with Munchkinland that I don’t fully understand? And why exactly does Jeff Goldblum hate the animals so much? And what on earth is going on with the eco system that there are giraffes, snow leopards and tropical birds all hanging out together? Madness clearly took hold in the CGI department.

Give the Oscar to this goat

Anyway that’s all very unfair; it’s a fun film and what a nice change to see something female focused - scrolling back through the posters of what we’ve seen in the last few months is slightly depressing. This is quite a short review because we are struggling a bit this week. I’m not sure what’s changed - maybe nothing, maybe it’s just the cumulative effect of six months of broken sleep? - but things that were manageable are suddenly feeling very, very hard. We had a little go at some pureed vegetables at the weekend, and I have to laugh at the number of people who’ve confidently told me that the baby will immediately start sleeping for longer stretches now. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our pervasive diet culture, it’s that there’s not many calories in a carrot stick. Whereas baby milk, boob or formula, is as sugary as an Ariana Grande big budget stage to screen musical adaptation.

Good things: I must be honest, if a surprise giraffe was present at my wedding I would be absolutely thrilled

Bad things: The script is kind of…meh EXCEPT for occasional unforgivable moments, chief among which is ‘for the first time, I feel….WICKED’ at the end of the love scene. Horrendous.

My review: Fun was had, I preferred the first film, I think 20 something me prefers the stage show

Lily’s review: 0 poos, a lot of wriggling

Next week: Wicked: For Good. Turns out there are films I won’t go to baby cinema for, and they’re: films baby cinema already showed this week. It’s an outrage! We are on the hunt for alternative venues…