Wicked: For Good – Glinda’s Role in “Wonderful” Explained By Screenwriter – TopLineDaily.Com

Warning: There are Wicked: For Good spoilers ahead.Glinda’s inclusion during “Wonderful” is explained by Wicked: For Good screenwriter Dana Fox. Wicked: For Good changes the Broadway musical by having Glinda playing an important role in the song, which only includes Elphaba and the Wizard of Oz during the stage performance.

While speaking with Deadline, Fox explains that Glinda’s presence during “Wonderful” allows her and Elphaba to have more scenes together in the film. For Good is based on the second act of the Broadway show, with Glinda and Elphaba not sharing many scenes together, but Fox felt this needed to change for the adaptation.

The idea of putting Glinda into “Wonderful” was met with some resistance, but Fox emphasizes that co-writer Winnie Holzman and songwriter Stephen Schwartz were supportive of it, along with other changes to the stage show. Check out Fox’s comments below:

I wasn’t precious about anything. I think I was the one who suggested putting Glinda in “Wonderful,” which she was never a part of in the play. So, I said, “This is a two-hour movie, and these are the stars of the movie, and they’re not in it enough together.” We’re going to die if they’re in the movie the way that they’re in it in the play. There’s no way we’re going to make it. So, I suggested the change, and there were gasps across the earth. People fell out of frame on the Zoom. But then, it was thankfully to Stephen and Winnie for being so open and so wonderful, they were like, “That’s a great idea. Let’s do that.”

And thank God they were such incredible collaborators, because I could suggest these sorts of unholy things, and they were open to them and ran with them. My takeaway from the whole project is that I will never forget my collaboration with Winnie.

Part of not being “precious about anything” meant being open to changes from the musical that audiences have been watching live for over two decades now. What works well for live theater doesn’t necessarily work as well for a movie adaptation, especially when each act is adapted as its own movie.

Putting Glinda in “Wonderful” allows the movie’s two central characters to spend more time together in a way that works for their relationship and their individual arcs. With Glinda wanting to keep both Elphaba and the Wizard in her life, along with keeping her status as Glinda the Good, it makes sense that she wants to have them be on the same side.

The Wicked: For Good song has Glinda calling the Wizard and his potential new partnership with Elphaba “wonderful,” which arguably works better than Elphaba being the one to say it as she does in the Broadway musical.

For Good‘s “Wonderful” also features Glinda and Elphaba dancing the same way they do in the first movie when their friendship truly begins. This callback to a simpler and more innocent time helps reinforce the idea of Elphaba being tempted by her old friend and by what Glinda and the Wizard are offering her.

With a 70% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes as opposed to its predecessor’s 88% score, Wicked: For Good‘s reviews haven’t been nearly as strong. Audiences have awarded it a “Verified Hot” 96% score and the film has had a record-breaking debut at the box office, though, all of which indicate that changes to “Wonderful” and other aspects of the musical are working well.