Ariana Grande has finally revealed the truth behind the title change for the Wicked sequel, due out next year.
The 31-year-old stars alongside Cynthia Erivo in the two-part film adaptation of the smash 2003 Broadway musical, which told the backstory of the Wicked Witch Of The West from L. Frank Baum’s beloved novel The Wizard Of Oz.
Cynthia plays Elphaba, a green girl with magical powers who later becomes the Wicked Witch, while Ariana plays Galinda, her college roommate and best friend who eventually emerges as her rival Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.
Wicked: Part One bowed Thanksgiving week and recently passed the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office.
This week it was announced that the title of Wicked: Part Two will actually be Wicked: For Good, named after the climactic song from the musical.
Now, Ariana has revealed the story behind the upcoming film’s name, and when she found out the subtitle, via Variety.
Ariana Grande has finally revealed the wild truth behind the title change for the Wicked sequel, due out next year; pictured Tuesday during the Golden Globes First-Time Nominee Luncheon
Universal’s Wicked recently passed the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office, and now the sequel has a new title
‘We had [For Good] printed on our original scripts, the hard copies that we originally received,” Ariana shared in her new interview.
‘We were floating around with different ideas, but the scripts were printed from day one. I’m glad it’s official now because we’ve become quite attached to it.’
The song For Good, written by Stephen Schwartz, is a duet for Elphaba and Glinda, who are forced by circumstances to face each other in a war, but sing a final ode to their friendship.
A fan favorite lyric reads, “Who can say if I’ve changed for the better? But because I knew you, because I knew you, I was changed forever.”
Director Jon M. Chu had always planned a two-part adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book, which cast characters from the Wizard of Oz in a whole new light.
On Monday, the studio announced that the sequel – previously known to the public as simply Wicked: Part 2 – will now be called Wicked: For Good, via The Hollywood Reporter.
The studio revealed the title with a short video on the Wicked Instagram, which has already racked up more than 760,000 likes in just three hours.
The sequel is still scheduled for release on November 21, 2025, and is currently competing against Paramount’s The Running Man remake starring Glen Powell.
Now the studio has revealed that the sequel – previously known as simply Wicked: Part 2 – will now be called Wicked: For Good, via The Hollywood Reporter
The studio revealed the title with a short video on Wicked Instagram, which has already racked up more than 760,000 likes in just three hours
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as Glinda and Elphaba, following the pair’s iconic friendship.
The film debuted widely at the box office with $112.5 million from 3,888 theaters.
It has currently collected $359.1 million at the domestic box office, with $166.1 million from foreign markets for $525.2 million worldwide.
The film has caused some controversy, with theater chains like AMC discouraging fans from singing along to iconic songs from the musical, the fourth-longest in Broadway history, which has been running for 21 years.
However, it was recently announced that Universal will be releasing a sing-along version starting on Christmas Day.
The sing-along screenings – where fans are encouraged to sing along in the theaters – run from December 25 to January 2.
The cast for the sequel also includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.
Erivo recently talked about preparing for such an iconic musical, admitting, “It took a lot of training.”
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as Glinda and Elphaba, following the pair’s iconic friendship
The film debuted widely at the box office with $112.5 million from 3,888 theaters
It has currently collected $359.1 million at the domestic box office, with $166.1 million from foreign markets for $525.2 million worldwide.
‘Normally when you sing a big song you sit with the ground under your feet, but in a harness and corset you have to find where the breath should be. It took a lot of physical and psychological tricks,” she added.
When asked about co-star Grande, Erivo said, “We didn’t get together until we knew we were doing it. The first time we sang, we realized that our voices fit together so well.’
Cynthia concludes: ‘It’s been three years in the making, so now I can talk about it. I’m very happy it’s over.’
“I gained a sister,” she said in Elle’s Women in Hollywood portfolio for 2024. “We speak almost every day at this point. We were both impressed by the immediate connection we had.”