Ariana Grande looking into the distance as Glinda in Wicked: For Good© Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
By
Hannah Gearan
Published 52 minutes ago
Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories.
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Summary
Generate a summary of this story
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wicked: For Good
Jon M. Chu finally explains one of the most haunting scenes of Wicked: For Good. The sequel follows the events of the Broadway musical. Ariana Grande-Butera and Cynthia Erivo reprise their roles as Glinda and Elphaba. The cast also features Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, and Jonathan Bailey.
Though the movie has just been released, it is already making waves at the box office. During its Thursday previews, the film made $30.8 million at the domestic box office. In a fairly slow fall, this is not only the best preview gross of the season, but the highest of 2025 to date.
Following the release of the film, Chu explains one key element of Wicked: For Good's ending moments to Entertainment Weekly. Specifically, the director spoke about the meaning behind the desert that Elphaba and Fiyero walk into during the final moments. According to Chu, the team considered "versions of that desert that were a lot darker and scarier."
However, the version they decided on represented something far more hopeful. In the final version, this represented "possibility."
"[There were] versions of that desert that were a lot darker and scarier — like walking into your fears. [But ultimately, the desert] is not dead space, it's possibility. No one has explored that horizon because everyone's too scared. Let's put sparkles in that sand!"
Chu's inclusion of the desert finds its origins in L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. The author described this desolate environment beyond Oz as the Deadly Desert.
This name implies a dark and terrifying place. This tone is where Chu got his original "darker and scarier" version of the desert. This would have positioned the place as something far more daunting, making the term "walking into your fears" make sense.
Canonically, there was no one correct answer to what this desert should look like. It is not present in the original Wizard of Oz, and the limits of a live production leave things up to the imagination in the musical. As such, the movie was a chance for Chu and his team to make a decision on how to visually represent this unique space.
While there is not much detail in Wicked: For Good's desert, the area is not completely forboding. Even if visually sparse, it "is not dead space" because it does not merely swallow up Fiyero and Elphaba. They are walking into seeming nothing, but the portrayal allows for Chu's intention of this representing "possibility."
This ultimately puts a positive spin on something that could otherwise be a fairly dour ending for Wicked: For Good. Even though Elphaba survives, Glinda does not know, and she has now been forced into hiding. Fiyero is also forever changed. But this desert means that being changed for good could open more doors.
Your Rating
close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 Leave a ReviewYour comment has not been saved
Like Follow Followed Wicked: For Good PG Drama Fantasy Romance
8/10
9.0/10
Release Date
November 21, 2025
Runtime
137 Minutes
Director
Jon M. Chu
Writers
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire
Cast
See All-
Cynthia Erivo
Elphaba
-
Ariana Grande
Glinda
Expand
Collapse
-
Movies
-
Wicked: For Good
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Be the first to post Images Attachment(s) Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.Your comment has not been saved
Send confirmation emailThis thread is open for discussion.
Be the first to post your thoughts.
- Terms
- Privacy
- Feedback
3 hours ago
Ghosts’ Intriguing Character Return Sets Up A New Era At Woodstone Manor
3 hours ago
Black Panther Will Launch Their Biggest Mission in 60 Years Starting in 2026
1 hour ago
Why Glenn Close Looks Unrecognizable In The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping Trailer
4 hours ago
3 Best Movies To Watch On Prime Video This Weekend (Nov 22-23)
More from our brands
The Best Movies in Theaters Right Now
Collider's Fall Preview Event Debuts Exclusives From 55 Must-Watch Movies
The Love Triangle Between These Three 'Wicked' Characters Runs Even Deeper in the Book
This Deleted Scene From 'Wicked' Explains Exactly Why Glinda Can't Do Magic
'Wicked: For Good' — What We Know About Glinda and Elphaba's Second Act
Everything We Know About 'Wicked: Part 2', Explained
$758 Million Epic Fantasy Blockbuster Tearing Up Netflix Charts Days Before the Sequel
Trending Now
Sisu: Road to Revenge Ending Explained: Does Aatami Korpi's Fate Set Up A Sequel?
Brendan Fraser’s New Movie Rental Family Tackles The “Epidemic Of Loneliness"
Every Major Streaming Service Price Increase This Year (& What's Rising In 2026)
