Wicked: For Good director reveals why he made bold decision for Dorothy's role in new film

Wicked: For Good director Jon M Chu has explained why Dorothy won’t take up much space visually in the second film.

The sequel, which is set to arrive in cinemas in December, will continue from Wicked: Part One, with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) now on the run after being labelled as the Wicked Witch, and Glinda (Ariana Grande) a public figure controlled by the wizard, and will also feature the iconic Wizard of Oz characters Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Lion and the Scarecrow.

But while there will be some overlap with the events of the Wizard of Oz, Wicked: For Good "is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey", Chu recently explained to People.

And because of this, audiences will never actually see Dorothy's face.

“I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with,” Chu added. "She is a pawn in the middle of all of it.”

This approach will see Dorothy given a slightly bigger role than she has in the Broadway musical, in which the closest she gets to appearing is when the silhouette of a girl is shown as water is tossed onto the Wicked Witch of the West.

The trailer for Wicked: For Good also recently hinted at a bigger part for Dorothy than she gets in the musical, with the character standing side-by-side (from behind) with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion.

Talking about the decision to have Dorothy seen only from a distance in the movie, Erivo recently told Empire: “I think that’s such a wonderful thing to do, because then everyone gets to keep the Dorothy that they know.”

Speaking about the significance of Dorothy’s existence, she added: “I love the little bit of shadiness that Glinda has towards Dorothy."

She continued: “There’s a lot going on, and she doesn’t really have time to deal with this. She could have told her to take the Emerald City train! But she didn’t. That’s a little shady, Glinda!

"So I leaned all the way into Glinda sort of having an eye roll for Dorothy whenever she has to deal with her."

Wicked: For Good is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on 21st November 2025.

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