Where Does 'Wicked: Part One' End and What’s Next in 'Part Two'? (2024)

Fans of the Broadway hit Wicked were surprised when director Jon M. Chu announced that his movie adaptation would be split into two separate installments.

"It became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film,” the director, 45, wrote in a social media letter in 2022. "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."

So with Wicked: Part One flying into theaters on Nov. 22, which parts of those characters’ journeys does it cover? And what can audiences expect ahead of next year’s Part Two release? (Warning: there are spoilers ahead!)

Starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Oz’s future Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as the eventual Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked: Part One spans act one of the Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman musical on which it’s based. Inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 revisionist prequel novel, it’s an origin story for the two witches originally created by L. Frank Baum —who had quite the history before Dorothy tornadoed her way from Kansas to Oz.

Part One begins its story after Dorothy’s bucket of water brought an end to the green villainess. Glinda celebrates the news of Elphaba’s death with the residents of Munchkinland before taking us back in time to how the witches first met: at Shiz University, where they roomed together and studied sorcery under headmistress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh).

The movie charts Elphaba and Glinda’s journey from enemies to friends, introducing a three-way triangle romance with the dashing Winkie prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and other characters key to Part Two: Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode); her crush Boq (Ethan Slater) who yearns after Glinda; a timid lion cub; goat professor Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage); and, of course, the so-called wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).

Erivo, 37, ends the first Wicked movie with a bang: upon learning the powerless Wizard is responsible for the oppression of animals throughout Oz, Elphaba resolves to resist him — even if it means being ostracized as a villain — in the pivotal act one ender “Defying Gravity.” As in the stage show, she flies into the Western skies with her hat, cloak and newly enchanted broomstick. Chu ends the film with a “To be continued” card.

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Part Two (filmed at the same time as Part One) will include the plot points from the musical’s second act, as well as its songs —and at least one new tune to be added by Schwartz, 76.

Spoilers follow: More closely tied to the events of Baum’s original novel and 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, Part Two will chart Glinda’s rise to bubble-riding Good Witch as she collaborates with the Wizard and Madame Morrible to turn Oz against Elphaba. Although still friends behind the scenes, things get complicated when Fiyero leaves Glinda for Elphaba and is later captured by soldiers.

Nessarose, meanwhile, embraces notoriety as Munchkinland’s Wicked Witch of the East following the death of her and Elphaba’s father (Andy Nyman). The sisters clash, magically turning Nessa’s subjugated Boq into a heartless man made of tin. Morrible uses her powers to summon a tornado that, as Wizard of Oz fans know, drops Dorothy’s house on Nessa.

Following the discovery that the Wizard has caged a helpless Dr. Dillamond, an anguished Elphaba mourns the loss of her professor, sister and lover. For Fiyero, she attempts to cast a spell preventing harm —which transforms his body into straw. As he, Boq, and the lion from Part One follow Dorothy on her yellow brick road adventures off-screen, Elphaba and Glinda reconcile, with Elphaba accepting that she must die for the sake of Oz’s people.

Part Two will likely end with the friends’ heartwarming duet “For Good,” Glinda’s dismissal of the Wizard and Morrible and —as Oz continues its celebrations —the reveal that the Wizard's daughter Elphaba, unaffected by water, is alive and with scarecrow Fiyero.

Part One is in theaters Nov. 22, with Part Two slated for Nov. 26, 2025. Go behind the scenes of Wicked with PEOPLE’s new special issue, available here.