Whether you prefer Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939) or Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz (1985), the Wicked franchise won’t be associating Dorothy with a new actress anytime soon.
Ahead of the Nov. 21 premiere of Wicked: For Good, director Jon M. Chu recently clarified that the second part of his movie musical adaptation will not show Dorothy’s face, as “she is a pawn” in the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Ariana Grande).
“I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with,” he told People, explaining that the sequel “is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it.”
Although the stage musical only shows Dorothy’s shadow from the other side of a scrim, her inclusion in the story is pivotal for Elphaba, who fakes her death after the Wizard of Oz protagonist throws a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West.
Following a brief appearance from Dorothy at the beginning of Wicked (2024), skipping down the Yellow Brick Road with her posse, trailers for the sequel have continued to tease her appearance.
Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu and Cynthia Erivo on the set of ‘Wicked: For Good’
Universal Studios
Meanwhile, Chu teased that Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) is involved with “an iconic moment we all know from our youth” that was “not in the” Broadway musical. “We have this amazing moment of the tornado and how it gets conjured,” he said.
