Wicked ending explained: Does Elphaba die?
Universal PicturesPopular? Yes. Long? Yes. But there’s good reason why it’s been split into two films. Here’s where we’ve got to so far by the ending of the first Wicked movie.
Even if you haven’t seen the 2003 Broadway musical or read the 1995 novel of the same name, you’ll know Wicked’s story origins from The Wizard of Oz. Ask yourself this – what if The Wicked Witch of the West was just drawn that way, a la Jessica Rabbit?
The new movie arrives in theaters on November 22, and it’s already on track to be a smash hit. Starring Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, early reviews (including our own) suggest the live-action adaptation really is defying gravity.
But how far in the story are we, and why do we have to wait another year to see the rest? Here’s a full debrief of the Wicked ending. Warning: spoilers ahead!
Wicked movie ending: Elphaba takes on Oz
The Wicked movie ending shows Elphaba singing her Act 1 finale song ‘Defying Gravity’, promising to take on the Wizard of Oz during his reign of terror against the kingdom’s animals.
But how did we get here? The live-action adaptation digs into Elphaba’s childhood further, showing she was born green due to her mother having an affair with a man who gifted her green elixir. She was born and everybody hated her – except for her young sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), who is disabled.
Fast forward many years later and Elphaba drops Nessa off at Shiz University, where she meets Glinda. When Nessa is mollycoddled by the staff, Elphaba’s fury erupts into destruction across campus. Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) sees this, inviting Elphaba to privately study under her own tutelage. She has to share a room with Glinda, starting an all-out rivalry.
The university’s history teacher Doctor Dillamond (Peter Dinklage) is a goat, and is one of the last animal teachers on campus. He tells his students about the great power animals used to have over the land, which is slowly being taken over by humans. As he teaches, he flips the board over to find “Animals should be seen and not heard” written in red pen. As a result, he strikes up a friendship with fellow outcast Elphaba.
At the same time, Munchkin Boq (Ethan Slater) has a crush on Glinda, though Nessa has eyes for him. Glinda makes a beeline for new student Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), falling in love with him almost instantly. Elphaba continues her studies, but becomes aware of what’s really happening to the animals of Oz after overhearing a faculty meeting. Losing their ability to speak, animals are going missing and being tortured across the land.
Universal PicturesAt the Oz-dust – a party for students – Glinda tricks Elphaba into wearing a hideous hat, but quickly regrets it when she finds out Elphaba has convinced Morrible to take her on as a sorceress trainee. It’s all because Glinda convinced Boq to take Nessa to the dance, which she’s delighted with. However, Boq has only done it for Glinda, and Glinda’s only asked to get Boq off her case. Nonetheless, the two carefully start a friendship when Glinda saves Elphaba from public embarrassment.
Soon enough, Dillamond is arrested while teaching and replaced with a human teacher, who immediately tries to show the benefit of caging animals in the hopes “they’ll never learn to speak.” Outraged, Elphaba sends all but Fiyero to sleep to try and rescue the lion cub used as a demonstration. They succeed and admit their feelings to one another. Nothing happens, with Elphaba resigning herself to never being loved by him.
Back at Shiz, Morrible has caught wind of Elphaba’s actions and writes to Oz (Jeff Goldblum) himself. Glinda and Elphaba’s friendship continues, resulting in the pair going to the Emerald City when Elphaba is invited by Oz himself. After learning the story of how Oz came to be via an elaborate town musical number (keep your eyes peeled for that one), the pair find Oz is a fairly average man underneath all his eccentricities.
Universal PicturesMorrible arrives in time for Elphaba to “prove herself” by performing a spell from the Grimmerie (essentially Oz’s hub of magic in a book). She complies with one that presents itself to her, turning the palace’s monkey guards into the flying monkeys we know from The Wizard of Oz. Here’s where the truth comes out – Oz and Morrible are behind the attacks on animals, claiming Oz will be reunited if there’s a common enemy to hate.
The flying monkeys are to be used as spies for animal behavior, and Oz wants Elphaba by his side as he makes more dangerous changes. However, she refuses to be part of his plans and escapes with the Grimmerie. Morrible tells Glinda to get her back, telling all of Oz that nobody is to trust the “Wicked witch” as she’s an enemy of Oz. The flying monkeys are also set on her, for good measure.
Wicked’s ending sees Elphaba and Glinda hiding from the guards as they catch up to each other. Elphaba tries to convince Glinda to come with her after she learns how to enchant a broom so she can fly. After wrecking Oz’s famed hot air balloon, the guards find them, only for Elphaba to take to the skies (singing ‘Defying Gravity’).
Universal PicturesGlinda is held by the guards while Elphaba tells Oz she’ll never be part of the Wizard’s tirade. Morrible frees Glinda, now holding her solely responsible for being the public face against the Wicked Witch.
Remember – we know from both The Wizard of Oz and the beginning of Wicked that the Wicked Witch of the West dies, with Glinda telling the story of how they were once friends to Munchkinland. In short, things are only getting nastier from here.
Is there a post-credits scene?
No, there isn’t a post-credits scene in Wicked Part 1.
However, the end credits are absolutely stunning. Just in case you hadn’t realized, they also confirm Wicked is being split into two parts, with an ominous “to be continued…” sign sprinkled in amongst them.
Fans might also notice Grande is officially being credited by her real full name, Ariana Grande-Butera.
Why are there two movies?
According to director Jon M. Chu, Wicked’s story has been split into two movies because it was “impossible to wrestle the story into a single film without doing some real damage.”
As explained in a social media statement, “As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear it would be impossible to wrestle the story of WICKED into a single film without doing some real damage to it. As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.
“So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one WICKED movie, but two! With more space, we can tell the story of WICKED as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.”
The move originally drew complaints when it was announced the first half’s runtime was 2 hours and 40 minutes. In context, this is almost the exact length of the stage show.
Given the first half has followed the original source material so faithfully, fans can expect a retelling of the musical’s second act in Part 2, which releases in November 2025.
Both films were shot simultaneously, so it’s not expected that production will suffer the same delays that Part 1 did.
Wicked Part 1 is out now. Check out its box office success, Broadway cameos, and why it has one huge problem. You can also catch up with new movies streaming this month and the best movies of the year so far.