Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande’s friendship shines in ‘Wicked: For Good’ trailer

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in a scene from “Wicked: For Good.” Image: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

The friendship of Elphaba and Glinda — portrayed by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — will culminate in “Wicked: For Good,” as hinted in a new trailer for the upcoming film.

The trailer, which was uploaded on Universal Pictures’ social media platforms on Thursday, June 5, showed Glinda (Grande) calling out to Elphaba (Erivo) to show her face at the Royal Palace of Oz, before a silhouette of the Wicked Witch of the West was revealed.

Scenes of Glinda and Elphaba picking up where they left off were also shown, with the pink-clad witch saying to the latter, “Think of what we can do, together.”

Another scene showed a teary-eyed Elphaba telling Glinda, “You’re the only friend I ever had.”

An emotional Glinda, who was shown holding the Grimmerie (a magical spellbook that the majority of Oz couldn’t understand), responded with: “And I have so many friends. But only one that mattered.”

Also revealed were Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), and Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), as well as glimpses of Dorothy Gale, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man.

“Wicked: For Good” also teased the songs “No Good Deed” and “For Good” in the trailer.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the film’s director Jon M. Chu said “Wicked: For Good” will revolve around Elphaba and Glinda facing the consequences of their respective decisions, which was revealed in the final scene of “Wicked” part one.

The final part of “Wicked” showed Elphaba leaving Oz in a quest for justice after the Wizard ordered the arrest of the animals, while Glinda was left behind in Oz.

“Our heart was broken when Glinda can’t make the choice that we want her to so badly at the end of movie one, and it feels empowering for Elphaba to fly away from society. In movie two, we get to see the consequences of those choices. The temperature is up,” Chu said, per report.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Image: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Ariana Grande as Glinda. Image: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

The filmmaker also hinted that Stephen Schwartz, the original composer of “Wicked’s” songs, wrote two new songs for the upcoming film and an “appropriate” wedding which spells a “life or death” situation between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero, to name a few.

“Wicked: For Good” covers the second act of the original Broadway musical, which originally starred Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. While it is scheduled to hit theaters in November, its theatrical release in the Philippines has yet to be announced. /edv