Every ‘Wizard of Oz’ Character In ‘Wicked’ & What Really Happens To Them

Wicked: For Good changes the ending for several characters from The Wizard of Oz, meriting a side-by-side comparison of the two. Just a year after Jon M. Chu’s Oscar-nominated Wicked made waves at theaters, the sequel is here, and the Wizard of Oz connections are far more prevalent, beyond just Wicked’s Easter-eggs and the obvious components like the Oz setting.

Aside from just Glinda, Elphaba, and the Wizard, Wicked: For Good integrates Dorothy and explores the origins of her three companions from The Wizard of Oz. The events of the 1939 classic play a critical role in the second and third acts of For Good, making the similarities and differences all the more impactful.

Warning: Includes MASSIVE SPOILERS for Wicked: For Good!

Dorothy Gale

Dorothy stepping before the Wizard of Oz in her silver shoes in ‘Wicked: For Good’

Universal Pictures

Wicked: For Good: Dorothy Gale is the lead character of The Wizard of Oz, but filmmaker Jon M. Chu described her as a “pawn” in the revisionist tale of Wicked. She plays a much more minor role, and audiences never actually see her face. While it’s clear from the brief snip-bits we get of her, Dorothy’s goal remains the same: she desires to leave Oz and return home to Kansas, and must seek the Wizard’s help to do so. However, the new musical doesn’t actually reveal if she makes it back or not. Her final moment sees her running after the Wizard, who departs in his balloon without her.

The Wizard of Oz: In The Wizard of Oz, it’s not through the help of the Wizard that Dorothy departs from Oz. It’s Glinda who tells her that the power was within her the whole time, and all she must do is click her heels together three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home.”

Tin Man (Boq)

Wicked: For Good: The Tin Man is introduced in Wicked as Boq, the Munchkin man at Shiz who, after the time jump for Wicked: For Good, is shown to be serving Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister. It’s revealed that Nessarose has become a cruel governess, essentially holding Boq captive. When he tries to leave her to express his love to Glinda, Nessarose uses the grimmery, nearly killing him by reducing the size of his heart, before Elphaba saves him by turning him into the Tin Man. This version of the classic character is far more vindictive, bearing a personal hatred for Elphaba because of his transformation. After Elphaba’s downfall, it’s unclear what happens to Boq.

The Wizard of Oz: The Tin Man’s original goal in The Wizard of Oz is to retrieve a heart, something he lacks due to his metallic construction. In this interpretation, he’s a much more supportive character, and his admiration for Dorothy demonstrates that, throughout the story, he has developed the emotions he sought.

Scarecrow (Fiyero)

Cynthia Erivo Jonathan Bailey Wicked For Good

Wicked: For Good: The Scarecrow has notable changes in Wicked: For Good, given that he spends most of the story as Fiyero, Elphaba’s love interest. After he’s transformed into the Scarecrow, he joins Dorothy’s group to hunt Elphaba (presumably just to find her, not actually kill her). At the end of the film, he returns to the castle and discovers her, still alive. He and Elphaba depart from Oz, going on to live a more peaceful, fulfilling life elsewhere.

The Wizard of Oz: In the 1939 musical, the Scarecrow’s goal is to acquire a brain, and he is eventually given a diploma from the Wizard. When the Wizard leaves the Emerald City in his balloon, he leaves the Scarecrow in charge of Oz, demonstrating that he’d always had the brain he desired.

Cowardly Lion

Wicked: For Good: Audiences were briefly introduced to the Cowardly Lion in Wicked, where he was a small cub trapped in a cage. Elphaba freed him, but rather than be grateful for her deed, he grew up to resent her, blaming her for his lack of courage. He believes that, had she not freed him, he would have been left to fight his own battles. The Cowardly Lion joins Dorothy on her mission, bearing hatred for Elphaba much like the Tin Man. Similarly, his fate is not revealed.

The Cowardly Lion is voiced by Oscar nominee Colman Domingo in Wicked: For Good!

The Wizard of Oz: Much like Dorothy’s other companions, the Cowardly Lion’s goal in The Wizard of Oz is to find his courage. By helping to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West, he does so.

Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose)

nessarose wicked marissa bode — Marissa Bode and Cynthia Erivo in ‘Wicked’

Wicked: For Good: In the Wicked films, Nessarose is the amiable younger sister of Elphaba, whose reputation is undeservedly tarnished by proxy due to the defamation of Elphaba. This leads to Nessarose’s cruel nickname “Wicked Witch of the East.” Madame Morrible realizes that the ideal way to draw out Elphaba is to create a trap through Nessarose, and uses her weather magic to drop a house on her. Glinda gifts Nessarose’s slippers to Dorothy, and her complicity in Nessarose’s death ultimately leads Glinda to turn on Morrible later in the film.

The Wizard of Oz: The Wicked Witch of the East is an integral character in The Wizard of Oz, but one audiences never see on screen. Like in Wicked, Dorothy arrives in Oz when her house falls from the sky and lands on the Witch. This makes Dorothy instantly lauded by the Munchkins, who viewed the Witch of the East as a horrible tyrant, but also pits the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) against her.

The Wizard

Wicked: For Good: The Wizard is the central antagonist of Wicked, and the musical’s depiction delivers a notable twist, differing from The Wizard of Oz. In the film, Glinda returns to the Emerald City with the green vial, revealing to the Wizard that he was Elphaba’s father the whole time. Deeply ashamed of his role in her downfall and everything he had done, the Wizard leaves Oz, creating a power vacuum for Glinda to fill.

The Wizard of Oz: As the eponymous character of the 1939 musical, the Wizard plays a crucial role despite barely being on-screen. He is the man behind the curtain, manipulating events from the shadows through his veil of magical power. Like Dorothy, the Wizard is just an ordinary human from Kansas who used his engineering talents to feign magic, and once his actual lack of authority is exposed, he decides to leave Oz in his balloon.

Good Witch (Glinda)

Ariana Grande as Glinda Upland aka The Good Witch of the North in Wicked: For Good

Wicked: For Good: Ariana Grande’s Glinda is a much more complex character in Wicked, who, throughout the story, becomes the Good Witch she was always meant to be. Glinda always had a talent for charming people, but her lack of genuine magic developed an insecurity that only external validation could fill. However, due to her relationship with Elphaba, she’s grown significantly and is now ready to lead Oz with her amiability, but also with goodness and compassion.

The Wizard of Oz: Glinda is a much more straightforward character in The Wizard of Oz, and her last act in the movie is to help Dorothy find her way home.

Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba)

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked For Good turning around to someone off-screen

Wicked: For Good: In Wicked, Elphaba realizes that the only way to save Oz is for her to die, and for Glinda to lead the people to a better tomorrow. Elphaba fakes her death through a trap door, leading Dorothy and the rest of Oz to think her dead. When the coast is clear, she leaves Oz with Fiyero through the hidden passageway the animals had been using earlier in the film, when she sang the original song, “No Place Like Home.”

The Wizard of Oz: In the 1939 film, the Wicked Witch of the East is the primary antagonist, and Dorothy defeats her by pouring a bucket of water on her.