The 'Wicked' movie's biggest changes from the Broadway musical and book

Spoiler alert! We're discussing major plot details from the new movie musical "Wicked" (in theaters now).

So much happened before Dorothy dropped in.

In the sprawling new “Wicked” movie, fans will learn a little bit more about what exactly went down between Oz's scandalacious witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). Despite its nearly three-hour runtime, “Wicked” only covers the first act of the hit Broadway musical, with a second film scheduled for release in late 2025. For the most part, the movie is exceedingly faithful to its stage origins, but not without some minor differences.

Having seen the stage show countless times, we’ve answered all your burning questions about the film’s biggest changes:

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Does the ‘Wicked’ movie have any new songs?

In adapting “Wicked” for the screen, many theater fans assumed that minor songs such as “Something Bad” and “A Sentimental Man” would either be cut or turned into dialogue. But the Broadway score is entirely intact, and there are no new numbers sprinkled throughout the film or its end credits.

“The second movie has two new songs because the storytelling demanded it,” composer Stephen Schwartz says. “I wrote a couple things for this film that we ultimately felt we didn’t need,” although some songs like “Popular” are slightly longer, with a new outro that shows off Grande’s stunning vocal range.

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Are there any new scenes from Gregory Maguire’s 'Wicked' book?

As hardcore “Wicked” fans know, Maguire’s 1995 novel is a horse of a different color. When we first meet Elphaba in the book, she’s a feral infant who’s muzzled after biting off people’s appendages. As an adult, she’s a budding research scientist and social activist who spends years hidden away in a convent, and only begins to study sorcery toward the end of her life. The book contains drinking, drugs, rape, prostitution, crime and wild sex parties between humans and animals.

Understandably, screenwriter Winnie Holzman didn’t include any of that in the family-friendly Broadway musical or its film adaptation. “But once in a while, I would go back to the novel and look for things like location or character names,” Holzman says. Glinda’s friends Pfannee (Bowen Yang) and ShenShen (Bronwyn James), for instance, are both from Maguire’s book. They did not appear in the “Wicked” stage musical, but were added as comic relief for the movie.

Are there any other new characters in the ‘Wicked’ film?

Yes, but they’re all minor. There’s a new flashback scene between young Elphaba (Karis Musongole) and her sister, Nessarose (Cesily Collette Taylor), who are looked after by their nanny, Dulcibear (voiced by Sharon D. Clarke), an addition to the film. There is also a new administrator at Shiz University named Miss Coddle (Keala Settle), who clashes with Elphaba when she first arrives. We get a glimpse of the school’s many animal professors ‒ and even an all-animal band at the swankified Ozdust Ballroom ‒ although most of them don’t have dialogue.

What do we learn about Elphaba and Glinda's relationship?

Erivo and Grande have gorgeously palpable chemistry, and we would have loved to see even more scenes of Elphaba and Glinda just hanging out. Alas, the film doesn't do much in the way of fleshing out their friendship.

Still, the movie does bring some stirring new depth to Elphaba, a social outcast who longs for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) to “de-greenify” her skin. But after befriending Glinda and learning to love herself, Elphaba eventually turns down the Wizard’s offer to change how she looks, in a poignant scene that’s added for the film.

Self-love is also crucial to closing number “Defying Gravity”: After the Wizard is revealed to be evil, Elphaba chooses to embrace her magical powers and fight his tyrannical regime. In doing so, she stays true to her younger self, who always stood up to bullies. And in the movie’s emotional final moments, Elphaba comes face to face with a reflection of herself as a little girl.

“That was really important,” director Jon M. Chu says. “She needed a reason why: not for anger, not for vengeance, but for herself. She needed to be this person.”

Is there a 'Wicked' end credits scene?

No. Despite being the theater-kid equivalent of a Marvel franchise, the movie does not offer any post-credits teases for “Wicked: Part Two” (in theaters Nov. 21, 2025).

Marissa Bode, who plays adult Nessarose, shares that the second film is set roughly four years after the events of the first, “which is plenty of time for people to grow or not grow in a number of ways,” she says.

"Part Two" includes fan-favorite songs "Thank Goodness" and "As Long as You're Mine." And according to set photos, the second movie will feature the construction of the Yellow Brick Road, as well as a “Matrix”-inspired look for Erivo’s Wicked Witch of the West. Consider us ready to be changed for good.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Wicked' movie's biggest differences from the book and musical