‘Wicked’ Director Hints at Dorothy’s Appearance in ‘Wicked: For Good’

It’s been a major question on everyone’s mind since we first saw the initial teasers for Jon M. Chu‘s adaptation of Wicked: who in the world is going to play Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz? As fans of the Gregory Macguire novel — or even the Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman musical stage adaptation — well know, the second half of the book and the events from the classic film (and in turn the L. Frank Baum source material) converge in extremely important and exciting ways.

And in a new interview with Cinemablend, the director has teased a bit more about Dorothy Gale’s future appearance in Wicked: For Good. As it turns out, we may be getting more of the character — made famous by Judy Garland — in the second installment than anyone initially anticipated.

Per Chu:

Well, we definitely did cast Dorothy. You see her in some of our teasers. How much of do you see of Dorothy? I’m going to leave people — I can’t confirm or deny how much you see of her. I will say that I do think it’s important for, whoever Dorothy is to you, to try to respect that as much as possible. But does ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and our movie intersect in movie two more than ever? 100%.

How Does Dorothy Gale Fit Into the World of ‘Wicked’?

As fans of the Broadway musical will tell you, Dorothy appears only in silhouette on stage for the briefest moment when she melts the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) with a bucket of water. But it’s clear that the lost little girl from Kansas will play a larger role in the movie adaptation, given the glimpses we have already seen of her and her silver slippers (they were only ruby in the movie because of the film going technicolor — in the original book they’re actually silver boots) in front of the Wizard.

That said, just how big of a role remains to be seen, and who will play her is turning into another big question, as whomever was cast in the role has yet to be announced. (Both Wicked movies were filmed back-to-back.) Some super-sleuthing fans believe that Alisha Weir — the 15-year-old Irish actor/singer who starred in the film adaptation of Matilda, as well as the 2023 horror comedy Abigail — may be the one who won the part. She was also seen sporting silver shoes on the red carpet for Wicked so…it feels very plausible that she could be our new Dorothy Gale.

What’s particularly interesting about the Chu quote above is his comment about how the worlds of Wicked and The Wizard of Oz will “intersect in movie two more than ever.” Given the revisionist history that is inherent in Wicked itself, it feels fair to assume that those fateful, final moments between Dorothy and Elphaba may end up more loaded and complicated than we’ve ever known them to be. All the more reason to be excited for the second film.

Of course, this could all simply be a bit of smoke and mirrors to keep fans guessing and unaware of what’s to come when Wicked: For Good hits theaters on November 21, 2025.

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Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Runtime

160 Minutes

Cast

Cynthia Erivo
, Ariana Grande
, Michelle Yeoh
, Jeff Goldblum
, Jonathan Bailey
, Ethan Slater
, Marissa Bode
, Bowen Yang
, Bronwyn James
, Keala Settle
, Peter Dinklage
, Aaron Teoh
, Grecia De la Paz
, Colin Michael Carmichael
, Adam James
, Andy Nyman
, Courtney Mae-Briggs
, Sharon D. Clarke
, Jenna Boyd

Writers

Gregory Maguire
, Winnie Holzman
, Dana Fox
, L. Frank Baum

Studio

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