Wicked: For Good was one of the most anticipated films on the 2025 movie schedule, and the sequel to the Broadway adaptation is smashing box office records. The critics seem overall happy with the conclusion to this Ozian tale, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are getting their well-deserved flowers. While it’s hard to imagine the film shaking out any other way, director Jon M. Chu recently revealed that he originally had Bowen Yang playing a much more pivotal role in the movie, and he explained why he chose to scrap that plan.
In an interview with EW, the Wicked filmmaker discussed the much more expanded roles Bowen Yang’s Pfannee and Bronwyn James’ ShenShen had in the original iteration of For Good. Apparently, Chu planned on having Pfannee and ShenShen help Glinda distract the guards so she could go visit Elphaba and warn her that the witch hunters were coming after her. Ultimately, their involvement seemed to take away from Glinda’s storyline, and Chu decided to script her solo departure from her castle. He explained:
