Lead: On Monday night in Leicester Square, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey joined fellow cast members for the European premiere of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good, ahead of the film’s Nov. 21 theatrical release. The event brought fans—some wearing Glinda crowns, others painted green—onto the yellow brick road carpet as the principal cast posed and spoke about closing a long-running chapter. Producers and Chu framed the evening as an emotional homecoming for a franchise that launched with wide acclaim. The premiere also highlighted that the sequel continues the storylines begun in the first film while promising new conflicts for Elphaba and Glinda.
Key Takeaways
- Event: European premiere held Monday at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, ahead of the film’s Nov. 21 release.
- Cast presence: Ariana Grande (Glinda), Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero) led a roster including Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Michelle Yeoh.
- Audience: Fans attended in large numbers, many in Glinda crowns or green face paint, creating a visible fan spectacle on the yellow brick road carpet.
- Box office context: The first Wicked film earned more than $750 million worldwide, establishing high commercial expectations for the sequel.
- Accolades: The earlier film produced Academy Award nominations in 2025 for Cynthia Erivo (Best Actress), Ariana Grande (Best Supporting Actress) and a Best Picture nod; director Jon M. Chu was not nominated for Best Director.
- Creative framing: Producer Marc Platt and director Jon M. Chu described the premiere as a homecoming and emphasized the emotional investment of cast and crew.
Background
The Wicked franchise began with a first film that combined broad commercial success and awards recognition, creating a high-profile follow-up. That origin movie surpassed $750 million globally and generated multiple Academy Award nominations in 2025, raising both audience expectations and industry scrutiny for any sequel. Jon M. Chu, who directed the initial film, returned to guide Wicked: For Good, a story that runs parallel to the original Wizard of Oz narrative while advancing the arcs of Glinda and Elphaba.
Cast continuity is a deliberate commercial and creative strategy: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reprise central roles after extended preparation and prior publicity cycles, while Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero has evolved into a prominent political figure in Oz. Studios and producers have leaned into fan rituals—costumes, makeup and premiere spectacle—to sustain momentum through press runs and release windows. At the same time, the sequel’s plot introduces fresh tensions, with Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible actively reshaping public memory in Oz to target Elphaba.
Main Event
The London premiere unfolded on the yellow brick road carpet at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, where the principal cast posed for photographers and greeted fans. Grande and Erivo arrived in coordinated black gowns, signaling a moment the production characterized as a formal goodbye to these iterations of Glinda and Elphaba. Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode and Michelle Yeoh also appeared; each participated in brief onstage remarks and fan-facing photo calls prior to the screening.
Producer Marc Platt addressed the audience, calling the evening a homecoming and praising the creative team that built the films. Jon M. Chu spoke about the emotional weight of completing a project that had been lived by the cast and crew for years, noting that sharing the film in person helped transform the long-held creative vision into a communal experience. He described a moment before the screening when key cast members linked arms on the yellow brick road—a symbolic gesture Chu said validated the work’s emotional scale.
Plot details released with the premiere indicate Wicked: For Good runs alongside events from the original Wizard of Oz timeline. In the sequel, Glinda—now referred to as Glinda the Good—serves in a public role opposite Fiyero, who has become captain of the wizard’s guard. Meanwhile, Madame Morrible forges a revisionist public narrative intended to erase Elphaba, but the Wicked Witch of the West resists efforts to be buried by history.
Analysis & Implications
Commercially, the sequel carries the weight of a first film that crossed $750 million worldwide, which raises expectations for both box office returns and streaming/ancillary performance. Sequels to successful musical films often rely on repeat viewing and franchise fanbases; the emotional bond fans have formed with these portrayals—amplified by awards recognition—can convert to robust opening-weekend receipts if marketing sustains interest through Nov. 21. Studios will watch early ticket sales and pre-release indicators closely to project longer-tail revenue.
Artistically, the sequel’s parallel timeline approach allows the filmmakers to revisit established events from alternate viewpoints, a method that can deepen character complexity but also risks narrative redundancy. The creative team’s emphasis on lived emotional experience—Chu’s comment that the cast had already ‘‘lived both movies’’—suggests the sequel aims to deliver character-driven payoff rather than merely expand spectacle. Critical reception will likely hinge on how well the film balances new stakes with the emotional continuity fans expect.
Politically and culturally, the film’s internal focus on public narrative—Madame Morrible’s attempt to reshape Oz residents’ memories—echoes contemporary concerns about misinformation and historical revisionism. If the sequel foregrounds themes of truth, memory and authority, it could amplify the franchise’s relevance beyond pure entertainment and generate broader cultural conversation. Internationally, a strong UK premiere and subsequent global roll-out will be important signals for overseas market performance.
Comparison & Data
| Metric | Original Wicked (first film) | Wicked: For Good (sequel) |
|---|---|---|
| Global box office | More than $750 million | To be determined after Nov. 21 release |
| 2025 Academy Awards | Best Picture, acting nominations (Erivo, Grande) | Eligible for 2026 awards season |
The table above places the sequel in context of the first film’s commercial and awards benchmarks. Those figures set a high bar: the predecessor’s $750 million global haul and multiple Academy Award nominations are reference points producers and exhibitors will use when forecasting performance. Early indicators—advance ticket sales, critical reviews after premiere screenings and social media engagement—will inform how closely the sequel tracks to or diverges from its predecessor’s trajectory.
Reactions & Quotes
Producers and filmmakers framed the premiere as a culminating moment after years of creative work, addressing both industry observers and fans in attendance.
“It feels like we’re coming home.”
Marc Platt, producer
Platt used the stage moment to connect the production’s long arc with the audience’s sense of ownership, invoking home as a motif aligned with the franchise. His remark aimed to reflect the personal investment of cast and crew and tie it to the public celebration.
“Sometimes making something that feels really big…can feel lonely, but we linked arm to arm and suddenly that delusion is very, very real.”
Jon M. Chu, director
Chu’s brief onstage reflection emphasized the emotional labor behind large-scale filmmaking and suggested that the premiere validated that labor. He positioned the premiere as a communal confirmation of the creative vision, not just a marketing moment.
“When you guys catch up and see this movie, we already know what you’re gonna feel.”
Jon M. Chu, director (London Film Festival remarks)
Chu also told London audiences earlier that they would understand the emotional press run after viewing the sequel, signaling confidence in the film’s ability to deliver resonant moments for viewers familiar with the franchise.
Unconfirmed
- Box office projections for Wicked: For Good ahead of Nov. 21 are speculative until weekend grosses are reported.
- Internal studio decisions about future sequels or cast returns beyond this film have not been publicly confirmed.
Bottom Line
The Leicester Square premiere positioned Wicked: For Good as both a ceremonial end and a continuation of a high-profile franchise. With principal cast members present and strong fan engagement, the film enters its release window with momentum tied to the predecessor’s $750 million box office performance and Academy Award visibility in 2025. How the sequel translates that momentum into opening-weekend receipts and longer-term cultural impact will depend on early critical response and audience word-of-mouth after Nov. 21.
For readers watching industry signals, the key metrics to monitor are advance ticket sales, opening-weekend grosses, and initial review aggregates; these will determine whether Wicked: For Good sustains the commercial and awards-level expectations set by the first film. Regardless of outcomes, the London premiere underscored the franchise’s continuing cultural resonance and the emotional investment of its cast and creative team.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter — Entertainment press coverage of the Leicester Square premiere and onstage remarks.