Wicked : For Good First Trailer Preview
Last November, Universal Pictures and Director Jon M. Chu made the world defy gravity with their film adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, Wicked. Calling Wicked a success would be an understatement; it’s one of the best musical films ever made! However, due to the need to do the musical justice, the story was broken up into two films, with the second due for release November of this year. Recently, though, Universal dropped the first trailer for this part two, Wicked: For Good. And judging by what the trailer shows us, moviegoers are going to need to have tissues ready this fall.
A lot of tissues.
A Changed Life for All
At the end of part one, Elphaba Thropp made the fateful decision to against the corrupt rule of the Wizard of Oz, stealing the magical Grimmerie before fleeing west. This act would lead to her branded as a fugitive and Wicked Witch by the Wizard and Madame Morrible. Meanwhile, her best friend, Glinda, chose to remain behind and work within the Wizard’s regime. The trailer opens up several years later, and right away, it shows us the consequences of both women’s decision.
As we see throughout the trailer, Elphaba has continued her rebellion against the Wizard of Oz, doing everything she can to expose his lies to the Ozians. As the outcome of the original story shows us, though, her efforts will be for naught, as she only becomes further isolated from the few people she cares about. The sole exceptions to this are her only friend, Glinda, and Prince Fiyero, who will play a major role in how things unfold.
In contrast to Elphaba’s outlaw life, Glinda has since become a key member of the Wizard’s government. She has the power and popularity she always wanted, and is even engaged to Prince Fiyero, but she’s not happy with her life. She chose to stay with the Wizard in the hopes of changing things from within, but judging by her behavior, she regrets this decision. She knows that Elphaba is right, and she likely hates herself for not being brave enough to follow her example. If the film follows the example of the musical, then things are only going to get worse for Glinda.
Lastly, we have Prince Fiyero, now head of a task force formed to capture Elphaba. However, as the end to the first film indicated, he instantly saw through the lies the Wizard and Madame Morrible spread about Elphaba, which wil ultimately lead to him turning on them for her sake. This turns him into a foil for Glinda, as while both know Elphaba isn’t evil, only Fiyero is willing to risk his reputation and life to help her.
Some Original Scenes to Be Found
Beyond showing the paths that Wicked: For Good‘s protagonists will take, though, an interesting aspect of the trailer is its inclusion of original scenes not found in the musical. The major example is what appears to be the wedding of Fiyero and Glinda. While the two became engaged in the musical, an actual wedding was never shown. Whether or not they go through it is unknown, but given how we later see Elphaba running through the church with a bunch of freed animals, it’s likely she crashes it before vows are exchanged.
A more notable example of original scenes for Wicked: For Good, though, has to be how it ties back to the original Wizard of Oz. In the original musical, most of the events of Wizard of Oz take place largely offscreen, with Dorothy Gale herself never physically appearing. However, not only does the trailer show the film recreating that first meeting between Dorothy’s group and the Wizard, but Dorothy is also physically onscreen, albeit without showing her face. While the film may intend to keep her limited to cameo appearances, her physical appearance in the trailer hints that she might end up having a greater role in the film adaptation. And that could be a game changer.
Make Dorothy more Involved!
While the story of Wizard of Oz is very much Dorothy’s story, while Wicked is meant to be the story of Elphaba, the one complaint I have about Wicked is that we never get to see both overlap in some way. Considering how Wicked reframes Dorothy as being an innocent pawn of the Wizard, not knowing how she reacts to things can feel a little frustrating. For example, does Dorothy end her journey through Oz ignorant about the truth of what’s happening around her? She may be fourteen, but that’s around the age when people start to question the world around them as they transition to adulthood. She could have picked up that things weren’t as they seemed, and that Elphaba might not be as bad as people say she is.
When Elphaba eventually captures Dorothy, will she realize that Ms. Gale is just an innocent pawn of the Wizard, and thus not deserving of her anger? Or will Elphaba attempt to tell her the truth in the hopes of finally having someone believe her?
For that matter, we never get to see how Dorothy reacts to Elphaba’s apparent melting by a bucket of water. Even if the girl thought Elphaba was evil, seeing someone die like that can traumatize a person! If the film takes its ending from the musical, then wouldn’t it make sense for Elphaba to let Dorothy in on what would happen?
THESE ARE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED, PEOPLE!!
Wicked: For Good Will be Worth the Wait
In any event, the main thing that this trailer emphasizes beyond the continuing friendship between Elphaba and Glinda is how dark this movie is going to get. Those who have seen the musical know that the second half is when things become far darker for the two as they come to deal with loss, mistakes, and suffering beyond anything they’ve ever experienced. Even knowing how things end isn’t going to make it any easier to watch. Regardless, if it’s even half as good as Wicked Part I, Wicked: For Good is going to be one of the best films of the year.
