Potential spoilers ahead for Wicked Part 2. If you're not familiar with the stage musical beware!
Over the years, a number of musicals have won Best Picture at the Oscars, and we have another contender in theaters now with the first Wicked movie. Rather than an offbeat musical, Wicked is a global sensation and Broadway blockbuster that fans like myself grew up with. Director Jon M. Chu just gave us a fantastic tease about my favorite song from Wicked Act II, and I think Broadway fans will be thrilled.
What we know about Wicked Part Two is limited, but fans are expecting a fairly straightforward adaptation of the musical's second act. After all, the first movie didn't cut any songs and only dropped a few well-known lines of dialogue. When it was revealed that Wicked was getting two movies, my biggest question was whether my favorite song "The Wicked Witch Of The East" be included, and finally get a recording after being noticeably missing from the original Broadway cast recording. While appearing in ReelBlend, Chu was asked if that song would make into the film, and therefore finally get a recording on its soundtrack. He responded saying:
I don't know what I'm allowed to say or not say at this point, because it's still pretty early. But I will say, it's a great number. And, I think it's due time that people do get it, so they can hear it over and over and over again.
Do you hear that sound? It's Broadway fans cheering collectively. This is definitely a hopeful message. While Chu was careful not to confirm anything about the second Wicked movie, he seems to be in agreement that Nessa and Boq's big song from Act 2 deserves a recording decades after the Broadway cast recording was released back in 2003. So if you ask me, that means there's a high chance that "The Wicked Witch of The East" will be included in Part 2.
While Nessa and Boq got to sing briefly during "Dancing Through Life", their big feature in Act 2 is definitely "The Wicked Witch of The East." In it we learn that the sister's father died, making Nessa the new Governor of Munchkin Country. But she's been stripping her constituents of their rights in order to keep Boq close to her, despite how he's very much in love with Glinda. And when the magic of The Grimmerie is factored in, things get crazier.
While Elphaba return to ask her sister to stand with her, their relationship issues explode in a mix of dialogue and singing. Because there is important spoken lines happening between every vocal solo, ones that are integral to big plot twists involving Nessa and Boq. And it's likely for this reason that the song was noticeably absent from the cast recording.
It makes sense for Wicked to try and keep its spoilers under wraps, but since this is Nessa's biggest song I've always been miffed about not having a recording of it. Instead, nerds like me have been forced to watch illegal bootlegs of the song (as well as compilations of different Nessas belting out its ending).
Anticipation for the second movie is definitely high, especially after Wicked's record-breaking success. Critics definitely praised Jon M. Chu's musical (see CinemaBlend's Wicked review here), as did audiences.
Wicked Part Two will hit theaters on November 21st, 2025. While we wait, check the 2025 movie release dates.
