Wickedco-screenwriterDana Foxrevealed that the second part in the saga,Wicked: For Good, will go even deeper in exploring Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda’s (Ariane Grande) relationship with one another. Speaking withScreen Rantat the Writer’s Guild of America awards, Fox explained thatFor Goodwill expand upon the second act of the original Broadway musical, which is considered by some to be less exciting than act one. Fox stated:
“Part Two actually has a little bit more room to be able to explore. Part One was pretty packed in terms of what was in the first act of the play, and all the things we knew we had to do. We explored, we deepened, and we tried to give you moments that you didn’t have in the play… But in the second movie, there’s a little bit more space for interpretation and space to go to a few places that you don’t go to in the play, so I’m excited for people to see it.”
Part one is indeed packed, namely with some of the show’s most memorable songs, including “Defying Gravity” and “Popular,” as well as a few big narrative twists. To compensate,Wicked: For Goodwill feature two brand-new songs written by Stephen Schwartz, the original musical’s songwriter, which will be solos for Erivo and Grande, enticing fans with something they haven’t seen before.
But Fox promises thatFor Goodwill expand on the play’s second act by further exploring Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship.
“In every single moment that we were working on this, we were thinking about the girls and their friendship and their relationship to each other. We knew it was a platonic love story and that, in every single scene, even if the other character isn’t in the scene, you have to know that they’re thinking about each other. You have to know where they are in their journey of falling for each other.”
‘Wicked’ Is About Celebrating a Deep Connection Between Two Women
Some fans might be disappointed at the words “platonic love story,” but Fox insists that platonic love can be just as intense as the romantic variety. For example, she cites her own marriage:
“What I love about this story is that you watch these two women meet each other, and they hate each other so much because they know that they’re the loves of each other’s lives. I’ve met people, like when I met my husband, where I was like, ‘This is going to ruin my life because I love you so much. It’s going to ruin everything.’ I love that people get a chance to see that with female friendship.”
The Differences Between ‘Wicked’ and ‘Oz the Great and Powerful,’ Explained
Discover the key differences between Wicked and Oz the Great and Powerful.
Fox’s comments echothose of star Grande, who similarly acknowledges that while the characters are indeed madly in love with each other, that love is strictly platonic. However, she does acknowledge that some of the queer undertones in the narrative are intentional, and that Glinda"might be a little in the closet.“Erivo agreed, stating that Elphaba simply loves love, and the characters' deep connection should be celebrated.
Wicked: For Goodwill hit theaters on Nov. 22 of this year, so fans won’t have to wait long to see exactly how intense (and perhaps even complicated) things between Elphaba and Glinda will get.
