Cynthia Erivo Reveals This Wicked: For Good Moment Wasn’t Planned

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This article contains spoilers for the movie Wicked: For Good.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande changed the ending of their Wicked story, for good.

This was especially clear during the unscripted moments of what many fans felt was the most moving part of director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good – the final scene between Elphaba and Glinda. In it, they sing “For Good,” reflecting on how their friendship has shaped them.

Cynthia Erivo, who is playing Elphaba again, explained to Today that after rehearsing scenes, they would immediately continue working even after the song ended. Director Jon M. Chu didn’t interrupt them, letting the process flow naturally.

Oh my gosh, you guys, it was everything! So, after Elphaba and Glinda finish their song – seriously, chills! – Elphaba tells Glinda she has to leave. But then, Ariana just… added this amazing line! Totally out of nowhere, she just asked, like, ‘What’s going on?’ It was so perfect and spontaneous, and it just made the whole scene even more heartbreaking and real. I swear, I almost died!

And that wasn’t the only ad-libbed line.

“I said, ‘Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine,'” Erivo recalled. “Not scripted.”

After Elphaba locates a hiding place for Glinda, they quickly exchange ‘I love you’s just before the closet door shuts.

Erivo explained that the scene where their characters declare their love for each other wasn’t planned. ‘That moment at the door, when we both said ‘I love you,’ happened organically – it was something my co-star and I discovered together while filming,’ she said.

Chu, she explained, let them be in the moment. 

We were both just trying to find the right way for our characters to say goodbye,” she explained. “Even while recording the song, there wasn’t a lot of instruction. He simply allowed us to sing directly to each other and be honest with what we wanted to say.

The stars of the Wicked movie series are perhaps the most saddened by its conclusion. On November 21st, the day Wicked: Part Two premiered, Cynthia Erivo publicly bid farewell to the franchise that had a profound impact on her life.

She shared on Instagram on November 21st that no amount of writing – not even an essay, poem, or something in the style of Shakespeare – could truly capture how meaningful this experience has been. She realized that trying to measure the love she’s felt or the stories she’s heard with numbers or words would fall short. Simply put, it was beyond description.

She went on, “Just let me say this: come with me, walk beside me to the very end of this beautiful path, and maybe the lessons I’ve learned can help you as well. Thank you for allowing me to be your Elphaba.”

Now that the Wicked movie is out, let’s take a look at the biggest differences between the film and the original Broadway musical.

The stars of the Wicked movie are perhaps the most saddened by the conclusion of the two-part film series. On November 21st, coinciding with the release of Wicked: For Good, Cynthia Erivo publicly bid farewell to the franchise that had a profound impact on her life.

She shared on Instagram on November 21st that no amount of writing – not even an essay, poem, or something in the style of Shakespeare – could truly capture what this experience has meant to her and what she’s learned. She realized that trying to measure the love she felt or the stories she heard with numbers or words just wouldn’t be enough; the impact was too great to quantify.

She continued, saying, “Please, walk with me to the very end of this journey. I hope the lessons and discoveries I’ve made along the way can be helpful to you as well. And thank you for allowing me to be your Elphaba.”

Now that the latest version of Wicked is wrapping up, here’s a look at the key differences between the upcoming Universal Pictures movie and the original Broadway musical.

The movie Wicked: For Good starts right after the first film ended, with Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo) flying off to use her magic and help the talking animals of Oz. The story immediately shows Elphaba working to free captive animals and trying to prevent the construction of the Yellow Brick Road.

The first new song from the upcoming movie, “Every Day More Wicked,” has been released. It’s a longer version of the song that opens the musical and features the main cast – including Ariana Grande as Glinda and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible – explaining how their characters have been handling the Wicked Witch of the West.

Similar to the stage show, the movie introduces Glinda as the public face of the Wizard of Oz. We see her receive her iconic bubble and wand, solidifying her role as the Good Witch. There’s even a flashback to young Glinda getting a magic wand as a birthday gift and playfully attempting to use her powers. This scene mirrors a previous flashback of young Elphaba, highlighting the contrast: while people were frightened by Elphaba’s powers, Glinda’s friends celebrate when they believe she’s used hers.

The song “Thank Goodness,” which starts the second act of the stage show, doesn’t appear until later in the movie. Instead, it’s used to mark the completion of the Yellow Brick Road and to celebrate the engagement of Fiyero (played by Jonathan Bailey, who is Captain of the Gale Force in the film) and Glinda. In a change from the stage version, Elphaba interrupts this celebration, trying to warn the people of Oz about the Wizard’s wickedness. She uses her broom to write a message in the sky, similar to how the Wicked Witch does in the original 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.

Elphaba shares a touching reunion with Dulcibear (Sharon D. Clarke) while trying to prevent the talking animals from fleeing Oz. During this scene, she performs a new song from the movie, “There’s No Place Like Home,” where she encourages them to remember the beauty of Oz and the importance of unity and compassion.

The Cowardly Lion, played by Colman Domingo, has a much bigger part in the movie than he did in the stage show—where only his tail was seen. In the film, we learn he was the cub Elphaba and Fiyero saved from Shiz. Now grown, he confronts Elphaba, telling her he believes she made him a coward by changing his life.

Similar to the stage production, Nessarose (played by Marissa Bode) becomes the governor of Munchkinland after their father, Andy Nyman, passes away. While the movie shows Elphaba already knowing this, in the musical, she learns it from her sister.

Because she’s still in love with Boq (Ethan Slater), she keeps him as a servant, hoping he’ll eventually reciprocate her feelings. In the film, she tells Boq he’s free to go after Glinda, whom he still loves, but he soon discovers a new rule: Munchkins now require travel permits, preventing his departure.

He goes back to Nessarose just before Elphaba arrives, seeking her sister’s assistance. Through new lyrics in the song “The Wicked Witch of the East,” Nessarose reflects on their time at Shiz and blames Elphaba for her troubles. In the stage musical, Elphaba magically alters her sister’s silver shoes, allowing Nessarose to walk. But in the film adaptation, the enchanted shoes make Nessarose float instead, and she ultimately returns to using her wheelchair.

The movie differs from the musical by showing Glinda and Fiyero’s wedding. Right before the wedding, Elphaba arrives in the Emerald City and meets the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Both the Wizard and Glinda try to persuade her to join them, performing a new, extended version of the song “Wonderful” – a song that’s originally sung solo by the Wizard in the stage production.

The Wizard reluctantly agrees to release the flying monkeys, but they betray Elphaba by leading her to a secret underground area where he’s imprisoned talking animals – including Doctor Dillamond, as seen in the musical. Enraged by this discovery, Elphaba frees the animals, and they cause chaos, disrupting Glinda and Fiyero’s wedding before the couple can exchange vows.

The film shows Madame Morrible creating the cyclone that devastates Oz. During the storm, Nessarose is searching for Boq when a house falls on her.

As a longtime fan of ‘Wicked,’ I was thrilled to see a deeper dive into Fiyero’s transformation into the Scarecrow! You know how Elphaba magically saves him from the guards, but this time, the filmmakers really show us what that process looks like. It’s a beautiful, and slightly unsettling, visual as straw gradually appears on his body. It adds a whole new layer to that iconic moment!

As a lifestyle expert and pop culture enthusiast, I’ve always been fascinated by the iconic duo, Dorothy and Toto! While the stage version keeps them a bit mysterious, the movie offers a lovely, albeit brief, look at their journey. We don’t get a clear view of Dorothy’s face, but we do see her and her companions – the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion – heading towards the Emerald City. Their mission, as given by the Wizard, is simple yet crucial: bring back the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. And in a sweet moment near the end, we actually hear the Kansas girl plead with the Wizard to wait for her, so she can finally go home. It’s a small detail, but it really adds to the emotional impact of the story!

Elphaba isn’t the only one expressing herself through song; Glinda also sings about her disappointments with life in “The Girl in the Bubble.” This song makes her realize she needs a change and prompts her to leave the Emerald City to find Elphaba and warn her about the Wizard’s plans.

Like in the musical, Elphaba and Fiyero stage a plan for her to appear dead so they can be together. However, the movie expands on what happens afterward, showing Doctor Dillamond returning to Shiz, Glinda beginning to study the Grimmerie, and Elphaba and Fiyero leaving for a new life beyond Oz. The film also includes a sweet nod to the stage version with its final scene, which mirrors the famous poster from the musical, showing Glinda and Elphaba together in a flashback.

The Time Dragon Clock, a puppet show featured in the novel Wicked, appears at the beginning of the Broadway musical. However, the movie only briefly references it when Glinda announces Elphaba’s death to the people of Oz.

The stage musical hints at Elphaba’s birth, but doesn’t show her childhood. The movie, however, depicts her upbringing and reveals her powers developing from a young age. It also introduces Dulcibear, a talking bear who helps raise Elphaba after her father is shocked by her green skin. Dulcibear’s presence explains Elphaba’s strong connection to animals and her fight against their mistreatment – a key theme in both the movie and the musical.

In the Broadway musical, Elphaba is already a student at Shiz University to support her sister, Nessarose. However, in the movie, she only goes to help Nessarose move in. Madame Morrible notices Elphaba’s magical abilities and convinces her to enroll as well. After that, the story follows a similar path: Glinda ends up accidentally volunteering to be Elphaba’s roommate, and the musical explains this happened because of an administrative oversight with the room assignments.

Both the stage and film versions of the story feature Doctor Dillamond, a talking goat who teaches history at Shiz University and warns his students about the growing danger to animals in Oz. The movie expands on this by introducing other talking animals involved in a resistance, but these characters aren’t in the musical. The song “Something Bad” happens in Doctor Dillamond’s classroom in the musical, whereas in the movie, he sings it with Elphaba in his home.

Both the stage musical and the film feature a love triangle involving Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero. However, the way Fiyero is introduced and how he first meets Elphaba is different in each version. In the musical, he nearly runs her over with his carriage upon arriving in Shiz. In the movie, he almost tramples her while riding his horse in the woods near the university, and he jokes that she was camouflaged by the surrounding plants.

When Doctor Dillamond loses his job at Shiz, a new professor arrives and demonstrates new animal cages, using a distressed lion cub as an example. This enrages Elphaba, and in the stage version, she causes chaos, allowing her and Fiyero to free the cub. The movie adaptation differs: Elphaba uses poppies to put everyone to sleep – a nod to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy and her companions fall asleep in a poppy field.

In the movie version of the story, Elphaba’s father appears at the train station where she meets Nessarose and Boq. This moment doesn’t happen in the stage musical; her father doesn’t come to see her off.

The film delves deeper into the history of the Grimmerie, an old spellbook written in a language no one in modern Oz understands. Although it doesn’t include any entirely new songs, a new segment has been added to the song “One Short Day.” The extended cut expands on the Wizard’s story, suggesting he’s the only one who can decipher the Grimmerie and fulfill a long-awaited Ozian prophecy. However, we later discover this isn’t true – the Wizard can’t read it, but Elphaba can.

“One Short Day” underwent the biggest changes between the stage and film versions, and it includes a special treat for fans. The movie version features a new performance by original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who play characters not found in the stage show. Credited as Wiz-O-Mania Super Stars, they appear alongside Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the Emerald City, offering a nostalgic moment for musical fans.

In both the book and film versions of Wicked, the Wizard initially impresses Elphaba and Glinda. In the movie, he does this by showing them a large model of Oz and announcing his plan to build a road to the Emerald City. He even invites Elphaba and Glinda to choose the road’s color, which ultimately results in the creation of the iconic Yellow Brick Road.

The film’s main climax remains largely the same as the stage play, but Elphaba’s final song is longer. During the song, she has a vision of her younger self, which motivates her to fly away, abandon the Wizard and Glinda, and start a new life. This flashback doesn’t appear in the original stage production.

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2025-11-21 22:20