The weeks are counting down until Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters in the 2025 movie schedule as the sequel to the smash movie musical hit Wicked, but fans were able to get an early taste of what’s to come on the small screen recently with NBC’s Wicked: One Wonderful Night TV special. CinemaBlend’s Rachel Rosenfeld had a “Glindelicious” time watching it film live, and I can vouch that it was still fun to watch from the comfort of a couch at home.
Before tuning in, I already was excited for everything I knew we would see, but finished the special even more excited about what we didn’t see. I'm pretty good at avoiding spoiler footage, but I was also quite determined to watch the NBC special and risk it. To quote Glinda in the upcoming movie, I couldn't be happier with the finished product!
NBC's Wicked: One Wonderful Night Special
Wicked: One Wonderful Night is now available streaming with a Peacock subscription, and I can confirm that it’s worth the watch if you enjoyed the first movie. Cynthia Erivo defied expectations with her latest rendition of “Defying Gravity,” Ariana Grande sang “Popular” to a young attendee, and Jonathan Bailey’s audition tape was revealed to the world.
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth turned up for a double duet of “For Good” to overlap with Erivo and Grande’s version, there were tastes of songs that were held for Part 2 due to Wicked being split into two movies, and even snippets of the new original songs written for the upcoming film.
Having seen Wicked on stage a couple of times, I was as excited as anybody to hear pieces of some epic numbers that I already know by heart, as well as hear some of the new songs, with “No Place Like Home” for Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and “The Girl in the Bubble” for Ariana Grande as Glinda. “Thank Goodness” was always one of my favorites from Act 2 of the stage show, and I feel confident after Wicked: One Wonderful Night in predicting that the film version will deliver.
But my two very favorite songs from Act 2 didn’t make the cut for NBC's TV special. I was prepared to be disappointed not to hear them, but now I’m just glad to still be in the dark on the finished versions that will be part of Wicked: For Good.
The Finished Versions Of My Favorite Songs Are Still Mysteries
Spoilers are ahead for the second act of the Wicked stage show, which are likely to also be accurate for Wicked: For Good.
I doubt that I’m unique in saying this, but my two very favorite songs from Act 2 – and definitely in my Top 5 of the entire production – are “As Long As You’re Mine” and “No Good Deed.” From what I’ve seen, the Wicked: For Good team has kept a pretty tight lid on “As Long As You’re Mine,” which is a duet between Elphaba and Fiyero after they confess their romantic feelings for each other.
It’s a fantastic showcase for Idina Menzel and Norbert Leo Butz in the roles in the Original Broadcast Cast album, and I’m confident that Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey will crush it. Plus, despite Fiyero getting his own number in the first movie, we didn’t actually hear too much of Bailey singing. “As Long As You’re Mine” is also a brief reprieve for Elphaba and Fiyero, so I’m psyched to see it (and hear it) in full for the first time in the movie.
And then we have “No Good Deed,” which is sampled in the Wicked: For Good trailer, and that sample alone of Cynthia Erivo singing was enough to get me excited for the movie. I’m going to predict now that “No Good Deed” – belted by Elphaba after she suffers one loss after another in Act 2 – might be Erivo’s most memorable song of the film saga after “Defying Gravity,” and even beat “The Wizard and I” as a showcase for her voice in a solo song.
Since I’m already kind of bummed that “For Good” has been played so much just in the promotion of the next Wicked movie, I’m glad that I haven’t heard more than that trailer taste of “No Good Deed.” Even if “No Good Deed” – and “As Long As You’re Mine,” for that matter – is released before I’m able to see Wicked: For Good in the theater, Wicked: One Wonderful Night has me determined not to spoil myself.
If you didn’t tune in to the NBC special and still need a little convincing, check out the trailer:
Wicked: One Wonderful Night is available streaming on Peacock now, and Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters on Friday, November 21. Director John M. Chu has opened up about why he thinks For Good is the “most compelling side of the story,” so if you loved the first film last year, perhaps the sequel will hit even harder. I know that I at least will be taking some tissues with me!
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