Wicked: Part Two is now called Wicked: For Good

This past Thanksgiving, Universal dropped the first of two movies that adapt the smash hit stage musical Wicked to the big screen. This revisionist take on The Wizard of Oz has been beloved by audiences for decades, so there was already a built-in audience that showed up in droves to see the story of how the Wicked Witch of the West (aka Elphaba) and the Good Witch of the North (aka Glinda) became friends, long before Dorothy and her little dog too came into the picture.

It also helped that the movie was really good. Wicked is officially a big hit. But Universal was tricky in that it didn't actually advertise that this was only part one of a two-part movie. It was just called it Wicked, not Wicked: Part One or whatever; I'm betting a lot of audiences didn't realize a sequel was on the way until they actually got in the theater.

Today, the games continue. Universal has revealed that the second Wicked movie, which will cover the rest of the stage musical, will not be called Wicked: Part Two as was previously thought, but rather Wicked: For Good.

This is a reference to the song "For Good," probably the best song from Act II of the musical. It's an emotional song sung by both Glinda and Elphaba that you probably shouldn't seek out if this is your first visit to Oz and you don't want to be spoiled. Beware original Broadway cast members Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth singing it below:

Now that the cat's out of the bag regarding Wicked being two movies rather than one, I don't mind them playing around with the title of the sequel, and Wicked: For Good isn't a bad choice; I guess they just thought Wicked 2 or Wicked: Part Two was too boring.

I am still a little cheesed off that they were so quiet about the dual nature of the first film, I imagine because they didn't want to scare away people who didn't want to commit to a series. But considering how well the final product turned out I'm inclined to let it go. Wicked: For Good comes out in theaters on November 21 of next year, one year after Wicked.

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