Wicked Part One is out now in theaters, bringing the beloved Broadway musical to the big screen. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande take on the roles of unlikely besties Elphaba and Glinda, alongside castmates that include Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey. The Wizard of Oz prequel (which tells half the story of the musical and the novel by Gregory Maguire), follows the two witches as they meet at Shiz University and unwittingly set the events in motion that culminates with a bucket of water in the 1939 movie…
If you've already caught the movie musical in the multiplex and have any questions about how things wind up for Elphaba, Glinda, and co., we've got everything you need to know right here, from Easter eggs to when Wicked Part Two is set to soar onto our screens. Be warned, though: there are major Wicked spoilers ahead!
Wicked Part One ending explained
Elphaba and Glinda's trip to Oz takes a turn once they actually come face-to-face with the Wizard. Elphaba tells him of her wish for the animals of Oz to be free, and he says he will if she can prove herself. The Wizard tells Elphaba that one of his monkey guards is always watching birds out of the palace windows, and he and Madame Morrible get her to look at the Grimmerie, a book of spells that only those with great magical gifts can read. Morrible reassures her that it's okay if she can only manage a few words, but Elphaba easily reads out a whole spell. As a result, the monkey (and the rest of the guards) sprouts feathered wings in a slow and painful transformation. Outraged by what she's been made to do, Elphaba realizes that the Wizard doesn't have any powers of his own and he maintains control of Oz through the creation of a common enemy to unite the people: animals. She refuses to cooperate with him and flees his chambers with the Grimmerie in tow, and Morrible calls for the guards to get her.
Glinda follows Elphaba through the palace and they end up in a tower. They find a hot air balloon there and attempt to hijack it, but the guards foil their plan. The pair ascend higher into the tower into an attic room and bar the door with a broom. Meanwhile, Morrible issues an announcement throughout Oz that Elphaba is a wicked witch and shouldn't be trusted, and Glinda tries to convince her to go back and apologize to the Wizard and Morrible. Elphaba refuses and tells her that she needs to do what's right. She tries to use the Grimmerie spell that gave the flying monkeys their wings on herself to no avail but, as the Wizard's guards break into the tower, a broomstick begins to levitate. As she sings 'Defying Gravity,' Elphaba bids Glinda farewell and mounts the broom to escape. The guards reach Glinda and try to detain her, but Morrible gets them to release her. As Elphaba barrels through the window, she begins to plummet towards the ground, but then she sees herself as a child and reaches out towards her. As the two join hands, she begins to soar, and heads into the unknown.
What happened to Dr. Dillamond?
Animals in Oz are oppressed and discriminated against, and Dr. Dillamond the goat is the only animal professor left at Shiz University. During one of his classes, he finds that someone has vandalized his projector screen with the words "animals should be seen and not heard." After stumbling upon a meeting between him and some other animals, Elphaba learns that there's a conspiracy to stop animals from speaking and many are fleeing Oz before things get even worse. During their next class, Dillamond is removed from the university and replaced with a new human professor, as animals have been banned from teaching. The new professor has a lion cub in a cage and tells the class that these cages are new contraptions designed to keep animals under control.
What is the Wizard and Madame Morrible's plan?
In order to maintain power in Oz, the Wizard and Morrible have instigated a hate campaign against the animals. "The way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy," he tells Elphaba, and animals like Dr. Dillamond are used to do just that. However, once Elphaba defies the Wizard and sets out to do what's right, the focus shifts to her, and the pair set out to make her the common enemy of Oz: the Wicked Witch of the West.
Wicked Part One cameos explained
- Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth: When Elphaba and Glinda arrive in the Emerald City, they're treated to a street performance acting out the origin of the Grimmerie spell book. The Wise Ones are played by none other than Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, the actors who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda in the Broadway musical version of Wicked.
- Stephen Schwartz: When Elphaba and Glinda arrive at the Wizard's palace in the Emerald City, a guard announces that "the Wizard will see you now." The guard is played by the Broadway and movie composer Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music and lyrics for the stage version of Wicked.
Wicked Part One Easter eggs explained
- Nessarose's silver slippers: On Elphaba's sister Nessarose's first day at Shiz University, their father gifts her their mother's silver slippers. The ornate shoes have tornado-shaped heels and rainbow patterns on them, references to the tornado that brings Dorothy from Kansas to Oz in The Wizard of Oz and the song 'Over the Rainbow.'
- Ruby slippers: While she's singing 'Popular', Glinda gives Elphaba a pair of ruby slippers to help with her makeover. Of course, the ruby slippers that Dorothy wears in The Wizard of Oz are one of the most iconic images in the 1939 movie.
- The Wizard's real name: While Elphaba and Glinda are trying to escape the Wizard's guards in the palace tower, eagle-eyed viewers might have caught a glimpse of a poster on the wall bearing the name 'Oscar Diggs'. This is the Wizard's real name.
- Mrs Gulch: Sharp-eared viewers might have heard Mrs. Gulch, AKA the "real" version of the Wicked Witch of the West in Kansas, gets a namedrop when Elphaba and Glinda arrive at Shiz University.
- The hot air balloon: the Wizard arrived to Oz in the hot air balloon that Elphaba and Glinda try to hijack, and he also tries to take Dorothy home in it later, though it doesn't work out.
How is Wicked Part One different from the musical?
Wicked Part One is a pretty faithful adaptation of Act One of the Broadway musical, but there are a few minor changes. For starters, the flashback to Elphaba's childhood at the start of the movie isn't in the musical. Plus, in the musical's version of 'Defying Gravity,' Elphaba doesn't fall before she flies, and she and Glinda don't try and hijack the Wizard's hot air balloon, either. Other scenes are also slightly extended – 'Popular' and 'Dancing Through Life' run slightly longer than their musical counterparts – while Elphaba joins in with 'Something Bad' in the musical but is eavesdropping in the movie.
When will Wicked Part Two be released?
As you might have guessed, Wicked Part One is only half of the story. Based on Act One of the stage musical, the second half of the story will be told in Wicked Part Two, which hits the big screen on November 21, 2025.
Wicked Part One is out now. For more, check out our Wicked review and our guide to all the other best upcoming movies still to come in 2024.
