- Culture
- Film
- News
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return in sequel, which is on its way to breaking box office records as the biggest debut ever for a Broadway adaptation
Inga Parkelin New YorkSaturday 22 November 2025 20:21 GMTComments
CloseWicked: For Good trailer
Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email
Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter
Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
For all Wicked and Wizard of Oz superfans, it may come as no surprise that Wicked: For Good depicts Dorothy’s iconic ruby red slippers as silver. But for everyone else, the film’s costume designer has shared the fascinating reason why.
For Good, in theaters now, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, who’s living in exile after being demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West, while Ariana Grande’s Glinda the Good Witch resides in popularity and fame in the Emerald City palace. When an angry mob rises against Elphaba, she must reunite with Glinda to transform herself and all of Oz for good.
*Warning, potential Wicked: For Good spoilers to follow*
The sequel, which comes a year after Jon M. Chu’s Oscar-nominated Wicked, adapts the second act of the hit Broadway musical and welcomes a brief appearance from Dorothy, the main protagonist of The Wizard of Oz.
While the original 1939 Judy Garland-led Wizard of Oz — based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel — featured Dorothy in sparkly ruby-red slippers, Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell told People that Baum never wrote her shoes to be red.
“They’re not ruby,” he said. “In the book, they were these odd little silver boots.”
open image in galleryDorothy's remains faceless in 'Wicked: For Good' (Universal Pictures)
open image in galleryDorothy wears silver jeweled slippers in 'Wicked: For Good' (Universal Pictures)However, because The Wizard of Oz was made in Technicolor, the studio, MGM, was eager to showcase the full range of colors the process could capture and gave costume designer Gilbert Adrian the creative liberty to stray from the source material.
Tazewell chose instead to honor Baum’s original concept and give Dorothy silver heels in For Good.
Also, since MGM, now owned by Warner Bros., holds the rights to the ruby red slippers, and the Wicked films are distributed by Universal Pictures, director Chu had “boundaries of what we could reference or not.”
Thus, “we never use the ruby slippers,” he told Variety last month.
open image in galleryRuby red slippers have become synonymous with 'The Wizard of Oz' (Getty Images)The slippers are a crucial detail in the story, helping to set the events in motion. Originally passed down to Elphaba’s disabled sister, Nessarose (played by Marissa Bode), by their father, they’re later gifted to Dorothy by Glinda after Nessarose’s death.
When Elphaba discovers that her family heirloom has been given to Dorothy, she becomes enraged and pursues her.
For Good, which opened in theaters Friday, is already on track to break box office records and become the biggest debut ever for a Broadway adaptation. It’s so far raked in $151 million domestically and $228 million globally.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Alongside Erivo and Grande, it welcomes back Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh and Ethan Slater. Colman Domingo joins the cast as the voice of the Cowardly Lion.
Wicked: For Good is playing in theaters now.
More about
MGMCynthia ErivoAriana GrandeWickedJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
