Wicked: For Good is confirmed to include original songs to supplement the soundtrack of the staple Broadway musical, which will expand upon certain characters. Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande-Butera’s Glinda will again be at the forefront of the sequel to 2024’s Wicked, with a new song apiece. Elphaba’s new song and Glinda’s new song will do something similar for each of their characters, shedding light on aspects of their psyche that are lost in the stage version, even though they have always been the main characters.
Elphaba’s song will be in addition to her solo from the second act of the musical, “No Good Deed,” which shows her at her darkest hour. However, this new tune may reveal more about her life in the intervening time of being the Wicked Witch of the West. Meanwhile, Glinda’s is likely to delve into her decision to officially become Glinda the Good. In this way, the new tracks are very complementary to each other. However, one more Ozian witch could have benefited from an origin-story-type song.
I Still Wish Madame Morrible Could Have Gotten Her Own Song In Wicked 2
Michelle Yeoh’s Version Of The Character Is Great & Deserved A Moment In The Spotlight
Michelle Yeoh’s iteration of Madame Morrible, the instructor of the sorcery seminar at Shiz University, is far grander and less comical than how she is portrayed on stage. This depiction prompts more questions about the character’s backstory that could be revealed through a new song. For instance, Morrible mentions that she too once had to “prove herself” to the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), an event that could be clarified through simple dialogue in the next movie.
It’s clear that Madame Morrible is more powerful than the Wizard.
However, when it’s clear that Madame Morrible is more powerful than the Wizard, what she is gaining from propping up his regime is an interesting matter. Stephen Schwartz has, of course, proven that he excels at delving into Wicked‘s thematic matters of perception, injustice, and personal codes through songs like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.” Insight into Morrible’s worldview would be best delivered through another song.
Though the sequel likely doesn’t have space for it, as there is a certain balance to one new song going to Elphaba and one to Glinda, a dark, Disney-villain-style power ballad from Madame Morrible could have been very thrilling. Villains across many movies, mediums, and genres convey a lot of charisma through their solos while illustrating their malevolent yet strangely compelling philosophies. Madame Morrible has decided that she is willing to persecute Oz’s animals to bolster her own status, and the Wizard is the best means to do that. I would love to see a Broadway-worthy summary of that story.
Michelle Yeoh Might Not Have Taken The Role With Too Much Singing In Mind
She Was Already Skeptical About The Singing That Was Required
However, Madame Morrible has always been a role with minimal singing requirements, which likely played into Michelle Yeoh’s casting. Aside from her easy introduction to “The Wizard and I,” Morrible has a few lines of singing in “Thank Goodness,” the first song in the second act of the musical — and that’s really it.
Yeoh is obviously one of the best actors currently working, fresh out of her unrivaled Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. She can play all manner of character arcs and is always a force of nature on screen. Yeoh also fairly recently starred in Jon M. Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, setting her up as a professional contact he could easily call to offer a role in his new project. As far as her new, more grandiose characterization, Yeoh was the perfect choice — but she has little singing experience compared to the rest of the cast.
Yeoh reportedly thought it would be “embarrᴀssing as hell” to sing in the movie and did vocal training specifically for this role (via US Weekly). Despite the story potential of Madame Morrible having her own song in Wicked: For Good, Chu favored Yeoh for her straightforward acting skills, safe in the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to sing that much. This structure was set in stone for the Wicked movie adaptation long ago.
Source: US Weekly
