Movie musicals have a long history in the film world, with a number of musicals winning Best Picture over the years. Rather than an offbeat musical, the latest addition to the subgenre is Jon M. Chu's Wicked, which broke records at the box office. Fans are waiting a full year for the second movie to arrive, as more information about the original keeps trickling out. Case in point: Chu revealed an "emotionally beautiful moment" he had during a screening of the film. And as a fan, my heart is so full.
What we know about Wicked: For Good is limited, but the movie is going to adapt the second act of the Broadway musical for the big screen. Splitting the story into two movies allowed for no musical numbers to be cut, and Chu teased that Wicked 2 will finally give some underrated songs their due. The director recently tweeted out a fond memory he had while seeing the film in theaters, saying:
Closing my eyes while a theater full of people sing 'I’m Not That Girl' with Elphaba on screen may be the most emotionally beautiful moment of this whole Wicked experience. Movies are beautiful. A Sing-Along Movie is unlike anything (as a filmmaker) I have ever been through. 🥹 wow. wow. wow[.]
As a big fan of the musical (and the movie adaptation) this does make my heart feel very full. "I'm Not That Girl" is perhaps the most emotionally vulnerable we see Elphaba in Wicked (aside from her dance with Glinda), and it allowed Erivo to have stillness and show off the bottom of her vocal range. It's nice to hear that audiences connected so deeply to composer Stephen Schwartz's beloved song. And I'm definitely one of them.
"I'm Not That Girl" happens around halfway through Wicked, when things in Oz start going south. After Doctor Dillamond is taken away, students at Shiz are shown a lion cub who will be trained to never speak. Elphaba and Fiyero escape with the cub, and set him free in the woods. That's when Cynthia Erivo's character sings about her unrequited love for Fiyero, who is already in a relationship with her best friend Galinda. And it's one of the most emotionally impactful Wicked songs.
The stakes during the second half of the Wicked stage musical are even higher than Act I, so one can only imagine how invested audiences will be when For Good hits theaters in November. And as such, I assume that Jon M. Chu will get to have a similar experience seeing how folks in theaters respond to the story unfold.
The first Wicked movie is available on digital now, and For Good will hit theaters on November 21st. For now, check out the 2025 movie release dates.
