Wicked: For Good – all the changes between stage and screen
- Sandy Porter
- Nov 21, 2025
- 9 min read
We’ve gone through to spot a load of them!
Wicked: For Good is based on a much shorter second act of the Wicked stage musical, and as a result that means there has to be a heck of a lot more stuff added in to make sure that it functions on its own terms. With that in mind, we’ve run down some of the biggest changes that have taken place between Wicked on stage and Wicked on screen.
This article has spoilers, so please, don’t scroll down unless you want to have it spoiled for you. Here’s a nice photo to give you one more chance to turn back.
Opening scenes
The new film starts with a brand new setting: watching some animals trying to construct the Yellow Brick Road while forced into servitude under the watchful eye of the Oz Guard. There’s then a quick scene where Elphaba arrives to liberate the animals. This is a big difference because in the stage show, you don’t see Elphaba for quite a while in act two, until “Thank Goodness” has concluded. A great way to see what Elphaba’s been up to over the last year.
We then launch into a new version of “Every Day More Wicked”, a new number that mashes up different bits from tunes of “The Wizard and I”, “What Is This Feeling”, “Popular”, and “No One Mourns the Wicked”, all with rejigged lyrics, essentially providing a brand new opening in terms of music. Also a good way to bring in some much-needed ensemble work.
The new scenes really do come thick and fast early on – with added dialogue, establishing scenes. We also get to see Pfannee and ShenShen, who are normally absent from act two. We also get a moment where we discover how Glinda gets her bubble from Morrible. We then learn about the mechanisms behind the flying bubble, and how it works.
There’s also a flashback where we see a young Glinda getting her first magic wand, unable to use it. Again, this is entirely new for the film.
Thank Goodness
Glinda flies to Munchkinland where we pick up with the stage version’s running order and a performance of “Thank Goodness,” though this has also been rejigged. We have lost Morrible’s entire verse about rewriting the story of act one (not really a bad thing!), and interestingly, Elphaba also appears in the sky during the scene to do some writing in the sky, something that doesn’t happen on stage.
This also then leads to a brand new chase scene, adding a bit more action to proceedings as Fiyero tries to hunt down Elphaba.
Wicked Witch of the East
We then head over to the Thropp mansion, as we do on stage after “Thank Goodness” on stage. However, this has been vastly expanded with new dialogue, new scenes, and new characters, and even a break in the middle, so that this is twice as long.
One of the new moments comes with Boq trying to escape to the Emerald City, yet unable to do so because of new rules put in place by Nessarose. This is a great way to show Nessa Rose’s tyrannical powers and why the Munchkins come to dislike her.
In between this scene, we also have a brand new moment where Elphaba sings one of the film’s brand new songs, “No Place Like Home.” This is performed to the animals who are trying to escape through a gap in the Yellow Brick Road. It’s a great way to build upon the world of Oz and highlight what’s going on with the animals as they kind of get sidelined for most of act two on stage.
The Lion also gets a wad of extra dialogue here – well you would use Colman Domingo if you had him!
Elphaba then flies to her old home, entering through a window rather than appearing in a wardrobe as she does on stage. Another interesting change is that on stage, Elphaba finds out about her father’s death from Nessarose directly, whereas here she has already known about it but simply has just avoided her sister throughout her grieving period.
One of the well-documented changes is a rejig of the story of Nessarose and how she discovers her ability to fly, rather than the more problematic scenes of stage of having her walking, implying that being able to walk has “fixed” her. The way that they make this work so well is because Nessarose starts talking about how much she felt like she was “floating on air” during the Ozdust ballroom night.
The “Wicked Witch of the East” number has also been jigged around with, with new lyrics and also some lines being delivered as speech rather than sung.
The transformation of Boq is then fairly similar to what happens on stage, though a lot more graphic and shocking, I’d wager.
The reason why Elphaba then decides to go to the Emerald City has also been changed. On stage, she claims it’s because she wants to set the monkeys free, whereas on screen, it comes after she discovers that Fiyero and Glinda are getting married, and she claims it’s an opportunity to influence some of the most senior figures in Oz and tell them about the Wizard’s deception.
To the Emerald City
In fact, the wedding itself is a big change. Elphaba arrives in the Emerald City, and there’s a brand new scene where she confronts Glinda in her apartment. Elphaba then warns Glinda not to come down and visit her when she goes to see the Wizard.
Glinda also shows up during “Wonderful” and is part of the performance. Rather than it just being done as a solo, the change means more voices and bodies for these musical numbers, because a lot of them are simply solos and duets in act two.
Another big change: a lot of the lyrics for “Wonderful” have been completely re-written, making it a lot more specific to the Wizard’s experiences. Other new lyrics a bit later on in the number reference moments from “Defying Gravity” and “The Wizard and I.”
Discussing these rewrites composer Stephen Schwartz has said: “When I look at the soundtrack, I realise almost half of it is new… People who know the show inside-out are going to hear a lot of things they have never heard before. Being able to add fresh insights and music to a story I have lived with for so long has been one of the most exhilarating aspects of working on it.”
After “Wonderful,” there’s a new extended moment. In the stage production, Elphaba discovers Dr Dillamond all caged up, which convinces her that the Wizard is evil. Things progress quite quickly after that. Here, the wizard actually agrees to join Elphaba and to let Elphaba back into the Emerald City. Elphaba then stipulates that the Wizard has to release all of the flying monkeys, which he does. It sounds as though everyone’s going to be having a great time at the wedding, but Elphaba then, with the help from flying monkey Chistery, discovers the caged animals in a side room. She lets the animals go and backs out of the deal. The animals then rampage through the wedding (another entirely new scene), disrupting it.
This then leads to a confrontation between Elphaba, Fiyero, and the Wizard in the Wizard’s sanctum. It plays out similarly to the stage version, with Fiyero and Elphaba escaping while Glinda is forlorn and angry – encouraging Morrible and the Wizard to use Nessarose to coax Elphaba into a trap.
We then get a performance of “I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)”, which takes place amongst the wreckage of the wedding. We then go straight into “As Long As You’re Mine,” which instead now takes place in Elphaba’s lair, and Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero does not carry a lantern, instead they are all nestled into the woodwork of Elphaba’s home.
After that, a storm descends, and we get a little bonus scene where Fiyero encounters the flying monkeys, which helps to explain later how he gets to Munchkinland so quickly.
Another very short and brutal scene sees Nessarose travelling into Munchkinland during the storm to try and find the newly transformed Boq, explaining why she’s out in the open when she gets clobbered by a house.
Dorothy descends
The magic of cinema means that we get to see a little bit more of Dorothy during the flick, compared to what we see on stage. Though, just like on stage, we never see her face during her travels through Oz.
The “catfight” scene then plays out pretty much like it does on stage (with a bit more fight choreo), with the added bonus of the flying monkeys arriving during the standoff between Elphaba, Glinda, Fiyero and the Gale Force. Oh, also, the fact that Gale Force are named is something new for the film. We also don’t have Fiyero swinging in like he does onstage, but we assume the Monkeys helped him get there.
Fiyero then sends Elphaba off, where she sings “No Good Deed” whilst trying to save his life. Most significantly, it is Glinda rather than Elphaba who screams the word “Fiyero” at the start of this number, which is quite a radical departure for those who love the song so much.
After a very dramatic cut to black, we then get another bonus scene where we see Dorothy meeting the Wizard, something that doesn’t happen on stage but does call back to the 1930s film.
March of the Witch Hunters/ Girl in the Bubble
The “March of the Witch Hunters” number is augmented by the presence of Dorothy, but aside from that, it’s presented very similarly to how it is on stage.
In a fun little moment, the Tin Man and Glinda share a look which feels very heavily loaded
However, after that we get the second brand new number of the film, “Girl in the Bubble,” a solo for Glinda where she reflects on her privilege. It’s a great addition, as Glinda’s change of heart normally takes place off-stage, so the film is able to document this more precisely.
There’s also another confrontation between Morrible and Glinda at this point, where Morrible is pretty savage. Glinda gets to repay the favour later on.
We then get a rapid-fire series of new scenes, including Glinda riding to Kiamo Ko and Dorothy abducted by the Flying Monkeys (seen from first person). it ends with Glinda and Elphaba reuniting at Kiamo Co to sing “For Good” together.
The final scenes
This number has a range of new dialogue sections, increasing the running time but also adding extra depth to the famous lyrics. There’s also a gut-wrenching scene after “For Good,” where Elphaba hides Glinda in a closet, and the two exchange the words “I love you.” Tears all round as they sob through the closet doors to each other.
We then see Elphaba’s demise at the hands of Dorothy. This is played out very similarly to how it is on stage, with shadows and silhouettes used rather than seeing it happening in the flesh. One of the great changes here is that they’ve also shown it from Glinda’s perspective, highlighting how she feels watching her best friend being murdered by a bucket of water.
The stage production normally wraps up fairly quickly after this, with a few beats and things being mopped up. However, there’s still plenty of time to show the end of each character that doesn’t happen on stage. The scene between Morrible, the Wizard, and Glinda has been taken apart, so isn’t shown with the three of them, but actually is done a bit more piecemeal.
Glinda confronts the Wizard and shows him the green bottle, which then sparks a flashback scene where we see a young Jeff Goldblum singing like he does in “No One Mourns the Wicked.” It’s then revealed to him that he’s accidentally ordered the murdering of his own daughter. It is then Glinda who actually says that Elphaba is a child of two worlds, rather than Morrible.
Just like on stage, we do see a confrontation between Morrible and Glinda, but here it is separate and takes place after the Wizard has been exiled. In this version, it is the Flying Monkeys that take Morrible away and place her in a cage, using new dialogue to highlight Glinda’s superiority.
Like the stage show, we then return back to the original scene from “No One Mourns the Wicked.” However, there is an additional twist here, as Glinda encourages all the animals to come out of hiding, and they reunite and are integrated back into civilisation, as displayed in a montage. We even see Dr Dillamond!
We then, of course, pick up back at Kiamo Ko where Fiyero, ie the Scarecrow, is rescuing Elphaba from her feigned death. This is done fairly identically to how it is on stage.
Some new departures here as we close out the film. Glinda finishes on the tall tower where Part One also ended. However, in a twist, the Grimmerie starts to open for her, revealing she might have the ability to cast magic of her own in the future.
We then get a final moment – a flashback to a Shiz University poppy scene, with Elphaba and Glinda recreating the show poster.
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