Wicked’s Cliffhanger Ending, Explained (and What to Expect in Part Two)

Spoilers ahead for Wicked, the Broadway musical, film adaptation, and original novel.

If somehow you’ve remained unaware that the movie version of Wicked tells only half a story, you’re forgiven — the trailers have done a decent job of hiding that the film ends with a cliffhanger. The two-hour-and-40-minute film is an adaptation of the first act of Wicked the stage musical, with Wicked: Part Two — based on the second act — hitting theaters November 21, 2025. That may qualify the next 12 months as the longest intermission in history. Not since the conclusion of Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 have audiences been left in such suspense.

To its credit, Wicked manages to feel like a complete movie, even with so much story left to be told. And we’re not exactly in the dark about what’s coming next, thanks to the long-running Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, on which the show is based. To help you get through the long year ahead, we’ve broken down the ending of the first movie, and what you can expect to see in the next one.

What happens at the end of Wicked: Part Two?

In the song “The Wizard and I,” Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, lets us know that she’s been waiting to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) since birth, but shortly after she and her roommate, Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, arrive in the Emerald City, they discover that he’s just a guy. The Wizard and Shiz University headmistress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) convince Elphaba to read from the Grimmerie, the ancient book of spells, and her incantation inadvertently creates an army of flying-monkey spies. She realizes that she’s been used — and that the Wizard is a fraud without any real power.

Elphaba refuses to join forces with the Wizard and Madame Morrible, who are leading the persecution of animals to manipulate the masses and gain power. Elphaba runs off with the Grimmerie, and the Wizard sends the palace guards to capture her. Meanwhile, Morrible announces to all of Oz that Elphaba is a dangerous enemy who must be stopped and brands her a Wicked Witch.

Glinda catches up with Elphaba and tries to convince her to apologize to the Wizard and join him. Elphaba has seen too much and no longer wants that. Something has changed within her! Something is not the same! Elphaba casts a spell to try to give herself wings, succeeding only in enchanting a broomstick to fly — good enough to make her escape. She nearly convinces Glinda to join her, but Glinda can’t do it, instead giving her former friend a very fetching cape. As the palace guards arrive, Elphaba flies out the window (well, falls, then flies), evading the flying monkeys, performing “Defying Gravity,” and promising that “no Wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me down.”

Madame Morrible’s words have a profound effect on the Ozians, who now see Elphaba as a terrifying threat. Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) is horrified, but not as much as their father (Andy Nyman), who seems to drop dead in shock. Back at the Wizard’s palace, Morrible tells the palace guards to let Glinda go — and despite everything Glinda has seen, she and Morrible embrace. High above them, Elphaba sounds her battle cry and flies off into the distance.

Is There an After-Credits Scene?

No. Thank goodness.

What’s going to happen in Wicked: Part Two?

We can probably assume Wicked: Part Two will follow the second act of the musical closely. The first film, while drawn out considerably with some character additions, is a very faithful adaptation of the source material. The second movie may add more material: Act Two is shorter and likely needs more beefing up, which may explain why composer Stephen Schwartz previously revealed that there will be at least two new songs. Plot-wise, however, the musical can give us a clear picture of what we’ll be seeing a year from now.

Assuming there aren’t any major deviations, Wicked: Part Two should pick up with Glinda now rebranded Glinda the Good and promoting positive vibes among Ozians, even as the Wizard and his press secretary, Madame Morrible, continue to spread lies about the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda has willed herself into an engagement to Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who serves as captain of the guard for the Wizard despite still being loyal to Elphaba. He’s not exactly thrilled to learn he’s marrying Glinda, and runs off to find the witch he really loves.

Elphaba’s sister Nessa needs to make something of an abrupt heel turn for her transformation into the Wicked Witch of the East — and here’s hoping Wicked: Part Two adds a little bit of nuance. In the musical, she’s now governor of Munchkinland following her father’s death, and has prevented any Munchkins from leaving so she can keep Boq (Ethan Slater) at her side as a servant. Elphaba arrives with the Grimmerie in tow, and magics Nessa’s shoes so she can walk (the movie may want to tweak this plot point as well). When Boq announces he’s leaving to confess his love to Glinda, Nessa tries to do a spell of her own and ends up destroying his heart, so Elphaba is forced to turn him into a tin man. (The first movie gives Boq the last name “Woodsman,” making this development not much of a surprise.)

Elphaba and Fiyero finally get together, but their very sexy duet is interrupted when Elphaba realizes a flying house has put Nessa in danger. Madame Morrible wants to use Nessa’s death to force Elphaba out of hiding, so she’s created a cyclone to bring Dorothy Gale to Oz and — well, if you’ve seen The Wizard of Oz, you know how that turns out for the Wicked Witch of the East. When Elphaba arrives at the site of her house-crushed sister, she and Glinda finally cross paths again. The two fight over Fiyero and the fact that Glinda has handed over Nessa’s enchanted shoes to Dorothy before sending the girl off down the yellow brick road.

As we know, the whole thing is a trap, and Elphaba is nearly captured until Fiyero reveals himself as a double agent and helps her escape. He’s taken away, and Elphaba does a spell to protect him while singing “No Good Deed,” a bitter “breaking bad” showstopper that’s one of the major selling points of Act Two. At the same time, an angry mob of Ozians is very much ready for the Wicked Witch of the West to be destroyed. Dorothy’s friends have personal vendettas against her. The Tin Woodman formerly known as Boq wants revenge against Elphaba for what she turned him into — even if it was to save his life — and the Cowardly Lion somehow blames Elphaba for him being cowardly, since he’s a grown-up version of the Lion that Elphaba and Fiyero rescue in Wicked.

Elphaba and Glinda do make peace in the end, with Glinda offering to tell everyone the truth about the so-called Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba urges her not to, saying it would just make the Ozians turn on Glinda, too. The onetime besties sing “For Good,” which is the other major selling point of Act Two, assuming you’re someone who appreciates impeccable harmonizing and crying about friendship. Glinda watches in horror as Dorothy throws water on Elphaba, which seems to melt her — but Wicked has a happier ending, and we should expect the same from the movie. After Glinda has Morrible arrested, she delivers Elphaba’s green glass bottle to the Wizard, who finally understands that he’s orchestrated the death of his biological daughter. Of course, Elphaba has only faked her death for a life of freedom with Fiyero, transformed by her spell into the Scarecrow — with Glinda never knowing their true fates.

What could be added to Wicked: Part Two from the book?

If the second Wicked movie wants to expand on material from Act Two of the musical, there are certainly plenty of opportunities for extra context, added scenes, and new characters. They have to fit the two new songs in somewhere! One possible source for these additions is Maguire’s original novel, which served as a loose inspiration for the musical. (Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book of Wicked the musical, collaborated on the screenplay for the films with Dana Fox.) The challenge here is that Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is a much darker and more complex version of the story, with more intricate politics, brutal violence, and kinky sex that could ever be included in a family-friendly musical — or a PG-rated film.

Aside from its content appropriateness, Wicked: Part Two would have to veer far from the musical to pull from the novel. It’s unlikely, for example, that Fiyero will end up in an arranged marriage (not with Glinda) and having an affair with Elphaba. With that in mind, we probably won’t get to meet Elphaba’s son, Liir — unless the filmmakers are eager to adapt more of Maguire’s novels. Liir is the protagonist of his first Wicked sequel, the incredibly titled Son of a Witch.

Much of the novel Wicked takes place in Fiyero’s castle of Kiamo Ko, where Elphaba and Liir live with Fiyero’s widow, Sarima. (While book Elphaba fantasizes about the Scarecrow secretly being Fiyero in disguise, he’s actually dead.) Sarima is a fascinating character, but one we likely won’t see in Part Two. Assuming the film wants to maintain the PG rating of the first movie — and keep Elphaba less morally gray than she is in the book — we also probably won’t get her inadvertent assassination of a chef with bees (don’t ask) or her bludgeoning of an already dead Madame Morrible.

The one area where Part Two seems most likely to draw from Maguire’s novel is in scenes featuring Elphaba and Dorothy. Dorothy is only really alluded to in the musical (she’s either just off-stage or seen in shadow), but she plays a larger role in the book — including a pivotal scene where she reveals she only wants Elphaba’s forgiveness for killing Nessarose. The first Wicked movie borrowed heavily from The Wizard of Oz with multiple Easter eggs and allusions to the 1939 film, so the second part may want to do a little more with Dorothy and her friends. Incorporating a bit of Maguire’s Dorothy scenes could help deepen one of Wicked’s most important themes: good and evil being a matter of perspective.

More on Wicked

• Is Wicked Popular with Critics?
• AMC Will Try to Stop Theater Kids From Singing During Wicked
• Did You Catch All Four Cameos in the Wicked Movie?

See All