Wicked

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Ariana Grande is looking for some compassion after she was forced to cancel her trip to Brazil for the São Paulo premiere of Wicked: For Good, something she says has led upset fans to wish “danger” upon her and her team.

In a heartfelt Instagram Story post on Tuesday (Nov. 4), the pop star began by writing, “i can’t believe this is happening and i am beyond devastated to be sending this message.”

“a few hours ago, my team and i had to deplane our flight, as they had to do maintenance on the plane due to a safety issue and it will not be taking off until 11am tomorrow which means that i would not be making it in time for the Wicked For Good São Paulo premiere,” she continued. “i am so heartbroken that i’m unable to be there with you all. we sincerely tried everything we could and i apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

Grande also added in her message that she and her team had explored both commercial and private overnight flights that could get her to the event on time, but to no avail. Even so, some disappointed attendees apparently took their frustration out by wishing “danger” on the actress, who followed up with another post a few hours later.

“please don’t wish danger on us,” she pleaded. “we did everything we could and i promise you no one is more upset than i am … no matter how upset or disappointed you are, please please do not wish danger on us or assume that we didn’t try.”

The Grammy winner went on to explain that she hadn’t been able to fly to Brazil any sooner than what was planned, as she’d been filming a movie — Focker-in-Law — through Oct. 31 and had work engagements on the first and second days of November.

“i have been looking forward to this moment for a year,” she concluded. “i love Brazil, i always have, i always will.”

The event in São Paulo will mark the first official international premiere of the Wicked sequel, which hits theaters worldwide Nov. 21. The next major early screenings are set for Nov. 7 in Paris, Nov. 10 in London and Nov. 13 in Singapore.

The Wicked team also has a concert special in store for fans ahead of Part 2’s release, which comes almost exactly a year after the first movie premiered, setting box-office records. Featuring live performances of the musical’s score by Grande and co-leading lady Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: One Wonderful Night will arrive on NBC and Peacock on Nov. 6.

Everything definitely changes for good in Wicked‘s second part, with the sequel’s new trailer showing how Oz is turned upside down by the actions of Ariana Grande‘s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba — as well as the entry of a certain gingham-wearing Kansan.
Arriving late Wednesday (June 4) as the first Wicked film returned to theaters for one night only in North America, the For Good teaser gave fans their first full taste of what’s to come in the darker, more intense sequel. “Elphaba Thropp, I know you’re out here — just come in before the monkeys spot you,” the blonde “Yes, And?” singer says in its opening scene, stepping out onto a balcony before the green-ified Pinocchio star silently appears, spooking her.

The nearly three-minute trailer then previews how the film’s plot unfurls, with the former best friends fully stepping into their chosen fates. Elphaba busies herself trying to expose the corruption helmed by the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), while Glinda dons a tiara and becomes the people’s princess of the Emerald City, playing directly into the faux warlock’s agenda. At one point, Grande’s character walks down the aisle in a dramatic wedding dress to marry Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who leads the hunt against the banished Elphaba before appearing to turn back to the pointy-hatted heroine’s side.

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“For a while there, I thought you’d changed,” she tells him during one tense moment.

“I have changed,” Bailey whispers back.

The trailer comes as there’s still several months to go before Wicked: For Good hits theaters in November, one year after the first installment in the Jon M. Chu-directed duology premiered. The 2024 movie was a massive success, so far grossing upward of $755.9 million worldwide — more than any other film adaptation of a Broadway musical — and winning two Oscars at the 2025 ceremony.

The Part 1 soundtrack also performed splendidly, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The new For Good trailer gives fans a taste of the film cast’s takes on the second half of the Wicked stage musical’s songbook, with Grande and Erivo delivering a few emotionally charged lines of tear-jerking duet “For Good.”

“Because I knew you, I have been changed for good,” they sing over a shot of the Tony winner telling a tearful Glinda, “You’re the only friend I’ve ever had.”

The trailer also shows several clips teasing one of the most pivotal developments of the musical’s second half: Dorothy Gale’s arrival in Oz. Though viewers never see her face directly, there are shots of her in her signature blue-checkered dress, walking down the Yellow Brick Road with Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Viewers also see the iconic foursome standing before Goldblum as he commands them to “bring me the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West.”

In an interview with Vanity Fair published the same day as the trailer’s release, Chu discusses how he approached including the Judy Garland-originated character — who only ever appears as a shadow in the Wicked stage musical — in the films. “That intersection is the place that we were first introduced into Oz,” the director told the publication, which also shared brand new first-look photos.

“We tread lightly, but try to make more sense of how it impacts our girls and our characters than maybe the show does,” he continued. “We’re delicate.”

Watch the first Wicked: For Good trailer above.

Great Oz! The first proper teaser for Wicked: For Good has arrived, and the characters are looking a lot different than they did when we first met them in Part 1.
Dropping Tuesday (June 3) — just one day ahead of the premiere of For Good‘s first trailer — the teaser opens with Cynthia Erivo fiercely staring down the camera, her hair down and outfit changed into a spookier black dress to show how her character, Elphaba, has fully embraced her role as the Wicked Witch of the West. On the flip side, Ariana Grande — who is the last to appear in the teaser — swapped her Shiz University uniform and pink bubble dress from the first Wicked film for a multi-colored ballgown and tiara, signifying how her character, Glinda, has leveled up as the people’s princess of Oz.

“I have been changed,” Erivo sings over the teaser, a snippet from the tear-jerking “For Good” duet in the Wicked Broadway musical.

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Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh also return in the teaser, looking more sinister after Part 1 revealed how their characters — The Wizard of Oz and Madam Morrible, respectively — intended to use their power for evil. Plus, Jonathan Bailey looks stoic as Fiyero in his green Emerald City uniform, while Ethan Slater appears as munchkin Boq in a gray getup.

For Good is set to hit theaters this November, one year after the first installment of Jon M. Chu’s live-action musical duology premiered. Things will take a darker turn in the sequel as Elphaba’s magic powers get the best of her, putting her relationships with Glinda, Fiyero, and Marissa Bode’s Nessa Rose in jeopardy.

“She’s able to access her rage more,” Erivo told Billboard Pride editor Stephen Daw of Elphaba’s transformation for her June cover story. “The scent I wore changed. The makeup changed. Little shifts that bring you to a more mature version of who Elphaba becomes. And she is delicious in this next one.”

As promised in the new teaser — which ends with text reading, “Trailer tomorrow” flashing across the screen — the first full preview of For Good is set to premiere in theaters Wednesday (June 4) as the first Wicked film returns to big screens for one night only in the United States and Canada. By the end of May, Wicked had grossed $755.9 million worldwide, more than any other film adaptation of a Broadway musical.

See the new Wicked: For Good teaser below.

Good news! Fans are finally getting their first looks at Wicked: For Good, with Universal Pictures announcing the release date of its first trailer while unveiling the film’s poster Wednesday (May 14).
As revealed first on the official Wicked Instagram account, the sequel’s official poster finds leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — who portray Elphaba and Glinda in the live-action musical duology, respectively — looking stoic as they stare each other down while standing on opposing rocky cliffs separated by a deep ravine. At the bottom, the franchise’s famous Yellow Brick Road leads the way to the Emerald City, which looms on the horizon in the center.

“You will be changed,” reads text on the poster, a play on the lyrics to Elphaba and Glinda’s “For Good” duet from the Wicked Broadway musical, on which the films were based.

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The poster offers fans their first visual of the sequel to Jon M. Chu’s first Wicked film, which hit theaters in November 2024 and has so far grossed $755.4 million worldwide — more than any other film adaptation of a Broadway musical — as of Monday (May 12). It also shows Erivo and Grande’s characters in brand new outfits, with the former embracing her persona as the Wicked Witch of the West in her signature pointy hat and an edgy black coat that billows out behind her, while the latter wears a tiara and multicolored ballgown.

But while the artwork is all viewers get for now of Wicked: For Good, they’ll soon get their first proper view of the November-slated installment. Shortly after unveiling the poster, the Wicked Instagram account announced that the sequel’s trailer will premiere in theaters on June 4 as the first film returns to the big screen for one night only in the United States and Canada.

“We know you’ve been waiting for this, and it’s finally coming,” Erivo says in a video sharing the news, standing next to the “Positions” singer.

“You will be changed …,” adds Grande before the Pinocchio star finishes, “For good.”

Tickets for Wicked‘s single-night return to theaters are on sale now. The announcement comes just two days after NBC revealed that a Wicked event special featuring Grande, Erivo and some “special guests” would both air on the network and stream on Peacock in November.

Modeling the arc of Act II in the Wicked stage musical, For Good is expected to pick up during the aftermath of the events of the first film. Elphaba is forced into hiding after the Wizard of Oz (portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) convinces the realm that she’s, well, wicked. Meanwhile Glinda assumes her role as people’s princess and government mouthpiece in the absence of her best frenemy.

“It gets messy,” Chu told Variety of the sequel’s plot in January. “I think if [audience members] are following the emotions of this movie, they’ll walk with us.”

See the new Wicked: For Good poster and trailer announcement below.