There's something special about movie musicals, some of which have won Best Picture at the Oscars. One recent entry to this genre that's been wildly successful is Jon M. Chu's Wicked, which broke records at the box office and has remained a vital part of pop culture over the last year. Its sequel For Good will arrive in November, and Oscar nominee Ariana Grande recently share some new footage, including the first look at Bowen Yang's return as Pfannee.
What we know about Wicked: For Good is limited, although musical theater fans know certain plot twists are coming. But there will also be some surprises, including new songs, and an expanded role for supporting characters like Pfannee. Grande posted a new clip to her Instagram from the sequel, check it out below:
After chewing the scenery and offering truly brilliant ad-libs in the first Wicked movie, Bowen Yang is officially returning for the sequel. His character doesn't have a role in the second act of the stage musical, so what he's up to as Pfannee is anyone's guess. I have to hope he'll give us more quotable lines. Seriously, I've been saying "I've been through" for about a year now... and that's from a deleted scene.
This above video starts with Grande's character in the Emerald City, hard at work as the newly crowned Glinda The Good. I assume this is from one of the new songs that's coming with For Good, because Glinda doesn't have a big song and dance number in Act 2 of the stage musical. Looks like Pfannee and Shenshen have remained in her entourage, but I'm sure she's still missing her friendship with Elphaba.
Bowen Yang juggled an insane schedule when filming Wicked in the midst of a Saturday Night Live season. Boss Lorne Michael made it clear he couldn't miss a show, and since both of Chu's musical movies were filmed at once, the 34 year-old Emmy nominee juggled these jobs for months at a time.
Yang spoke about the difficulty of this shooting and traveling schedule on his podcast Las Culturistas, but once Wicked was released it showed just how much he added to the acclaimed movie. I'm thrilled Pfannee will get to be included in For Good, and can't wait to see how he and Shenshen get in on the action of the story.
The first Wicked movie is streaming now with an Amazon Prime subscription, so there's time for newcomers to get caught up before For Good hits theaters in November. One can also see the stage show, although it'll give away some major spoilers for the sequel.
All will be revealed when Wicked: For Good hits theaters November 21st as part of the 2025 movie release list.
