The 2025 movie schedule has quite a few returns to beloved pictures of the past, especially with the next couple months offering 28 Years Later and Jurassic World Rebirth. The former example just might get a bit of a bump, as the first trailer expanding what we know about Wicked: For Good will probably be attached to its pre-show reel.
But as previously promised, tonight’s special Wicked re-release screenings saw the first trailer for director Jon M. Chu’s follow-up to 2024’s smash hit unfurled. While I love the results, I think that showing Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) making his face turn to save Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in the Wizard's lair feels like it should have been saved for the film. I'd like to think hardcore Wicked fans would agree with me on that.
On the plus side, Wicked: For Good’s expected tonal shift does get to shine in this first look footage. Oz certainly feels darker and more restrained under The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and his reign. And that close-up on the Cowardly Lion has me buying into that theory that the little cub Elphaba and Fiyero release into the woods in Wicked is indeed our anxious friend.
Which circles me back to the point I was making earlier. While I’m still trying to avoid Wicked: For Good spoilers in this ridiculous year-long gap between movies, I sadly know a little more than I want to about Jonathan Bailey’s uniformed heartthrob.
While I won’t spoil anything big here, I totally learned about that face turn. Even without knowing the exact circumstances surrounding it, Wicked 2's big moment loses its impact when shown mere seconds after a very serious looking Bailey in uniform shows up looking like this:
Then again, maybe this trailer is really more for selling Wicked: For Good to hardcore fans. I mean, they dropped 007 First LIght's announcement trailer tonight too, and for all I know, someone is feeling this same way about young James Bond's first appearance in that new video game.
I apologize to all of the loyal Wicked fans in tears, as the continued teasing of the pivotal song “For Good” has been going on for some time. Tonight's new reel of anticipation certainly played on those feelings, as well as digging into Cynthia Erivo's rendition of "No Good Deed."
Such expectations were set last night, as the Instagram announcement video for tonight’s event was probably a bit of a trigger. Not only were For Good’s costumes shown off, but we heard another small bit of Erivo and Grande singing that very song. If you’re ready to burn through some more tissues, here’s what that looked like:
Am I excited for Wicked: For Good? Of course I am. But as someone who tries to defend watching trailers to some of my friends who flat out avoid them, I can now see why they're so adverse to such things. Regardless, the conclusion of Wicked flies into theaters on November 21st; just in time for the Thanksgiving table to talk about the huge twists that await all of Oz.
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