For Good’ Easter Eggs, Broadway Changes, References Explained

In “Wicked,” the Universal Pictures logo was replaced with a vintage version of the globe, reminiscent of the 1939 iteration — the year “The Wizard of Oz” premiered. This time, the tornado can be seen behind the Universal lettering, a nod to the twister that brought Dorothy to Oz and toppled the Wicked Witch of the East.

In “The Wizard of Oz,” the Wicked Witch of the West flies through the sky on her broomstick and uses the clouds to write “Surrender Dorothy.” In a nod to that, Elphaba flies through the sky, this time writing “Our Wizard Lies.”

“For Good” introduces two new original songs – one for each witch. Glinda’s new song is “Girl in the Bubble,” while Elphaba sings “No Place Like Home.” The song title is a direct nod to Dorothy and “The Wizard of Oz,” who, in her quest to return to Kansas, repeats, “There’s no place like home,” while clicking her ruby-slippered heels.

Composer John Powell’s score weaves in several musical callbacks to Act I. There’s a reprise of “What Is This Feeling?” with revised lyrics praising Glinda and her goodness, and Elphaba delivers a reimagined version of “The Wizard and I” that reflects her disappointment with the man she once admired. Throughout the film, additional musical changes appear, including new lyrics in “Wonderful” and an expanded version of the scene that now incorporates Glinda.

Glinda’s purple dress – which audiences first see in “Thank Goodness” – pays homage to both Billie Burke’s gown from the “Wizard of Oz” and Glinda’s finale dress in the Broadway musical. Costume designer Paul Tazewell took the silhouette from the 1939 film, designing a full, multilayered tulle and organza gown with crystal and glass beads. However, the color palette was inspired by the lavender-blue hues from Broadway’s Glinda. “That was a nod to honor that image,” Tazewell tells Variety.

In a callback to Part One, the first sign that Elphaba has come to see Glinda is the subtle cracking of Glinda’s window — just as it shattered when they quarrelled while sharing a dorm room. This time, though, the fracture is more controlled, reflecting how much mastery Elphaba has gained over her magic and signaling her arrival.

In another callback to the first film, Elphaba narrowly avoids being spotted by the royal guards by blending into the trees. Remember — when she first met Fiyero, he joked that he barely noticed her because she “blended in with the foliage.” In Part Two, that line comes full circle as she evades him and his guards by doing exactly that.

Fiyero’s trusty steed is a blue horse — a subtle nod to the “Horse of a Different Color” from “The Wizard of Oz.”

All of Oz’s landmarks were strategically positioned to guide Elphaba’s journey from east to west, according to production designer Nathan Crowley. “She has to make a western journey, because she has to accept that she has to become the Wicked Witch of the West. She has to become the villain that Oz needs,” he tells Variety. So, the canopy where Elphaba fashions a hiding place faces west; then, by the end of the film, she reaches Kiamo Ko castle, completing her western arc.

Universal hinted at Boq’s future in the marketing. The character is framed by tin, teasing his transformation into the Tin Man. And the Munchkin wears an “M” embroidered over his heart, but the letter is filled in to form the shape of a heart, which he eventually loses when a spell goes wrong. During his first scene in “For Good,” audiences see Boq chopping wood in Nessarose’s chamber, foretelling what’s to come.

Because Boq’s transformation takes place in Nessarose’s mansion, “all the metal in the room attached to him,” explains Francis Hannon, the film’s head of makeup. “The handles of the jug were on his ears. His fingers were made from the salt and pepper pots.”

The iconic ruby red slippers never actually appear in the film. Due to a trademark issue with MGM, neither the movie nor the Broadway musical can use the famous red heels. Instead, filmmakers turned to the silver shoes originally described in “The Wizard of Oz” book, which is in the public domain. Their workaround? When Nessarose flies, cinematographer Alice Brooks uses red lighting instead — signaling to audiences that these are the beloved slippers we all know and love. “They get hotter and hotter, and that red became our most vibrant red,” Brooks says.

During their dance in “Wonderful” (now featuring Glinda), the Wizard’s palace is covered in rainbow-colored lights as a nod to Judy Garland’s iconic song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

As the ‘Wonderful’ number continues, Elphaba and Glinda levitate over the diorama of Oz. The filmmakers conceived the idea for the seated broomstick ride based on an idea director Jon M. Chu shared just before they flew to London to begin production. Chu shared photos with his team, explaining that he wanted the scene to play out similarly to the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland.

“Jon wanted to build a ride, and we were three weeks away from shooting this scene. We only have Jeff Goldblum for four weeks to shoot all of movie one and two with him,” recalls cinematographer Alice Brooks. Chu was adamant he wanted a ride that could actually take off with its stars onboard; but the stage had already been built, so the team crafted a seated ride.

The scene also mimics “The Wizard and I,” Brooks notes: “We slowly dim on the pink light as they take flight on this ride, and Elphaba’s green skin disappears in pink light.”

In addition to soaring around the palace, Glinda and Elphaba also dance together, recreating the emotional moment where they became friends at the Ozdust Ballroom in the first film. They reprise their signature moves — a wrist to the forehead and the playful “chicken wing” arm gesture — reminding viewers of both the origins and strength of their friendship.

In the first film, Elphaba’s magical powers explode in the Shiz University courtyard, knocking an engraved portrait of the Wizard off the wall to reveal a painting of animals, symbolizing how Oz once functioned. In Part Two, the Wizard’s palace features another similar portrait on the wall. Prompted by the flying monkey, Chistery, Elphaba looks behind the artwork to uncover a secret room and finds that there are real animals trapped behind bars.

In one scene, Elphaba tells Glinda, “I’m off to see the Wizard,” which is a direct nod to “The Wizard of Oz” and Judy Garland’s Dorothy who sings, “We’re off to see the wizard.”

Early in the film, Glinda has a flashback to when she was a little girl performing magic tricks in front of her friends. Her parents make an appearance, with Alice Fearn returning as Glinda’s mom. Fearn played Elphaba in the West End production of “Wicked.”

We got to meet young Elphie in Part One, and now in Part Two, we meet young Galinda. We see her at a party, where she tries — and fails — to perform a magic trick. But when a rainbow (alluding to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) appears outside and her friends ask if she made it, she confidently says yes.

The wedding is full of symbolic Easter eggs. First, the aisle runner of yellow butterflies represents the yellow brick road. There’s also the juxtaposition of Elphaba being underground, representing her journey into darkness and wickedness, while Glinda is above ground, celebrated among her peers.

After betraying the Wizard’s guards and allowing Elphaba to escape, Fiyero meets his fate: he becomes the Scarecrow. On closer inspection, the clues to his future were there all along — from the poster, which shows the character surrounded by cornfields, to elements of his costume.

“When you see him from the back, there’s a three-point pattern that’s created with the bullion … And that might be suggestive of something,” Tazewell tells Variety. In addition, the straw embroidery on this chest also hints toward this future.

Poppies play a key role in “The Wizard of Oz,” with a field of them lulling Dorothy to sleep. Poppies also appear throughout “For Good,” including on the Wizard’s robe and on his desk, as a nod to the iconic, intoxicating flower.

While Dorothy is not directly seen, nor does she have any lines, she appears in her all-too-familiar blue gingham dress. However, there’s another subtle nod to the character; the house that falls on Nessarose also features blue gingham curtains.

When Dorothy begins walking down the Yellow Brick Road, Elphaba notices Dorothy has Toto on a leash. This indicates that Dorothy is becoming an agent of the Wizard, and while she doesn’t have the pup in a cage, she, too, is an oppressor.

During “What Is This Feeling?” in Part One, the two witches clash during a combat class. Their fighting skills pay off later, when they reunite to battle following the death of the Wicked Witch of the East.

After Glinda slaps Elphaba following their fight, Elphaba lets out a cackle — an homage to Margaret Hamilton’s iconic laugh from “The Wizard of Oz.”

Just as Boq and Fiyero’s futures are embroidered and hinted at in their costumes, Glinda’s outfit also reflects her character development. She’s adorned with circles on her earrings, crown and dress, all mirroring the bubble she uses for transportation.

When the Wizard is finally exposed and leaves Oz forever, he exits in the same way as the original “The Wizard of Oz” film — via hot air balloon.

The final scene in Kiamo Ko echoes the opening scene of Part One, where the spilled water and abandoned hat mark the aftermath of the Wicked Witch’s “melting.” But as the camera pulls back to Munchkinland’s celebration of her demise, one last rainbow reference appears.

“Wicked: For Good’s” final scene differs from the Broadway musical. On stage, Fiyero and Elphaba walk off together. However, the film ends with a flashback of Glinda and Elphaba when they were at Shiz; Glinda, wearing a white hood, whispers to Elphaba in a direct callback to the musical’s original poster.