Wicked: For Good final trailer shows epic showdown as Oz awaits November release

Wicked: For Good released its final trailer on Wednesday, delivering a high-stakes confrontation between Glinda and Elphaba while offering a first look at Dorothy’s arrival in Oz. The teaser also previews new music and underscores that the long-awaited second part will pick up where the first left off, with the iconic story expanding in scale and mood. The clips set the stage for a late-November release window and tease the emotional and moral consequences that director Jon M. Chu has signaled for Part Two.

Cynthia Erivo returns as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande reprises Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, in Wicked: For Good. The sequel picks up after Elphaba has gone into exile and continues her fight for freedom as a silent resistance takes shape across a society that still questions The Wizard’s rule. Jeff Goldblum stars as The Wizard, and the trailer emphasizes the tension between truth and power, including a visual moment where Elphaba’s defiant message haunts the sky: a cloud-scrawled line reads, "Our Wizard lies."

Glinda has transformed into a symbol of goodness within Oz, living in a palatial Emerald City and wielding the credibility that comes with leadership. Yet the trailer makes clear that her relationship with Elphaba remains complicated. The two witches exchange a tense exchange, with Grande’s Glinda insisting she has no real power in the face of a regime built on fear, and Erivo’s Elphaba pushing back against an order that labeled her a villain. The teaser also hints at a potential thaw, ending with a moment where Glinda tearfully suggests, "Think of what we could do together."

As in the first film, the new trailer shows Oz’s citizens reacting to Elphaba’s presence. A hunting party tracks her through a landscape dotted with ominous signs, including posters that declare, "Beware of the Wicked Witch" and a bucket of liquid bearing the ominous label, "Melt her." The visual language underscores the danger surrounding Elphaba while keeping the door open to alliance, resistance, and a more nuanced understanding of power. Fans also glimpse Dorothy, along with the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, and the Scarecrow, as The Wizard tasks them with returning Elphaba’s broom to prove that she has been killed.

In addition to the dramatic scenes, the trailer offers a musical taste of what awaits. A snippet of Cynthia Erivo’s track, "No Good Dead," and Ariana Grande’s "For Good" accompanies the visuals, signaling that Part Two will lean into the emotional throughline that connected audiences to the first installment.

The final trailer arrives as anticipation builds for Wicked’s release on November 21. The first film was a box-office success, grossing roughly $747.2 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, and it earned critical praise and multiple Academy Award nominations, ultimately winning two trophies. In a high-profile moment at the Oscars when the original film was recognized, Ariana Grande performed a rendition of Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over the Rainbow before joining Cynthia Erivo for Wicked’s Defying Gravity, a scene that underscored the film’s musical ambitions. Jon M. Chu, the director, has spoken about Part Two as a course-correcting, more mature continuation: if Part One was about choices, Part Two will be about consequences. He has said the film will retain moments of lightness while embracing a deeper, more nuanced storytelling arc that tests the characters in new ways.

The trailer’s emphasis on consequence aligns with Chu’s broader vision for the two-film arc, which seeks to expand the philosophical questions introduced in the first movie while maintaining the franchise’s signature spectacle and musical scale. The visuals describe a world where the cost of action is felt across friends, foes, and the broader land of Oz, inviting audiences to weigh allegiance, power, and the bonds that endure even amid upheaval.

Wicked: For Good is poised to build on the momentum from the original film, with Grande and Erivo navigating a storyline that promises larger political stakes, more intricate moral choices, and a soundtrack that blends the beloved anthems fans already know with new material designed to propel the narrative forward. While the specifics of the new music are not exhaustively detailed in the trailer, the snippets suggest a balance of rousing numbers and intimate ballads that could become pivotal moments in the second film’s emotional arc.

As audiences look to November 21, the industry remains attentive to how Part Two will interpret the themes of empowerment, responsibility, and collaboration that underpinned the original. Chu’s comments about character maturity and the potential for a stronger, more reflective narrative indicate that Wicked: For Good aims to deliver a more layered screen experience without sacrificing the spectacle fans associate with the Wizard of Oz universe. The final trailer’s blend of confrontation, alliance-building, and the arrival of new musical moments signals a continuation that will challenge Glinda and Elphaba’s relationship even as it widens the world around them for a broader audience.