The ‘Wicked’ movie’s biggest differences from the book and the musical

On By Littum

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Spoiler alert! We discuss key plot details from the new movie musical “Wicked” (in theaters now).

So much happened before Dorothy fell.

In the sprawling new “Wicked” movie, fans will learn a little more about what exactly happened between Oz’s scandalous the witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). Despite its nearly three-hour running time, “Wicked” only covers the first act of the hit Broadway musical, with a second film slated for release in late 2025. For the most part, the film is extremely faithful to its stage origins, but not without some minor differences.

After watching the stage show countless times, we’ve answered all your burning questions about the film’s biggest changes:

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Does the ‘Wicked’ movie have any new songs?

In the adaptation of “Wicked” to the screen, many theater fans assumed that minor songs such asSomething bad” and “A sentimental man” would either be cut or turned into dialogue. But the Broadway score is completely intact, and there are no new numbers sprinkled throughout the film or its end credits.

“The second film has two new songs because the storytelling demanded it,” says composer Stephen Schwartz. “I wrote a few things for this film that we ultimately felt we didn’t need,” although some songs like “Popular” is slightly longer, with a new outro that showcases Grande’s amazing vocal range.

Any new scenes from Gregory Maguire’s ‘Wicked’ book?

As hardcore “Wicked” fans know, Maguire’s 1995 novel a horse of a different color. When we first meet Elphaba in the book, she is a wild infant who gets gagged after biting off people’s appendages. As an adult, she is a budding researcher and social activist who spends years hidden in a monastery and only begins to study sorcery towards the end of her life. The book contains drinking, drugs, rape, prostitution, crime and wild sex parties between humans and animals.

Screenwriter Winnie Holzman understandably didn’t include any of that in the family-friendly Broadway musical or its film adaptation. “But every once in a while I would go back to the novel and look for things like location or character names,” says Holzman. Glinda’s friends Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James), for example, are both from Maguire’s book. They did not appear in the stage musical “Wicked” but were added as comic relief to the film.

Are there any other new characters in the ‘Wicked’ movie?

Yes, but they are all smaller. There is a new flashback scene between young Elphaba (Karis Musongole) and her sister, Nessarose (Cesily Collette Taylor), who are being looked after by their nanny, Dulcibear (voiced by Sharon D. Clarke), an addition to the film. There is also a new administrator at Shiz University named Miss Coddle (Keala Settle), who clashes with Elphaba when she first arrives. We get a glimpse of the school’s many animal professors ‒ and even a hero animal band at the opulent Ozdust Ballroom – although most of them have no dialogue.

What do we learn about Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship?

Erivo and Grande have great palpable chemistry, and we would have loved to see even more scenes with Elphaba and Glinda just hanging out. Unfortunately, the film does little in the way of deepening their friendship.

Still, the film brings some touching new depth to Elphaba, a social outcast who yearns for the wizard (Jeff Goldblum) to “de-green” her skin. But after befriending Glinda and learning to love herself, Elphaba eventually turns down the wizard’s offer to change her appearance in a poignant scene added to the film.

Self-love is also essential to closing number”Defying gravity”: After the wizard is revealed to be evil, Elphaba chooses to embrace her magical powers and fight his tyrannical regime. In this way, she stays true to her younger self, who always stood up to bullies. And in the film’s emotional final moments, Elphaba comes face to face with a reflection of herself as a little girl.

“It was really important,” says director Jon M. Chu. “She needed a reason why: not for anger, not for revenge, but for herself. She needed to be this person.”

Is there a ‘Wicked’ ending scene?

No. Despite being the movie theater children’s equivalent of a Marvel franchise, the film features no post-credits for “Wicked: Part Two” (in theaters Nov. 21, 2025).

Marissa Bode, who plays the grown-up Nessarose, says the second film takes place about four years after the events of the first, “which is a lot of time for people to grow or not grow in a number of ways,” she says.

“Part Two” includes fan-favorite songs”Thank God“and”As long as you’re mine.” And according to set imagesthe second film will feature the construction of the Yellow Brick Road as well as a “Matrix”-inspired look for Erivo’s Wicked Witch of the West. Consider us ready to be changed for good.