‘Wicked: For Good’ Almost Featured More Dorothy Scenes, Confirms Director

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Be warned, this article contains spoilers for Wicked: For Good! Director Jon M. Chu initially considered including much more of Dorothy in Wicked: For Good, but ultimately decided against it. Wicked tells the story before the events of The Wizard of Oz, often happening at the same time as Dorothy’s adventure, but from the viewpoint of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Though familiar characters from Oz appear, the film largely keeps Dorothy at a distance, and we never see her face.

In a recent interview with People magazine, Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu explained the creative choice to keep Dorothy’s face hidden throughout the film. While they filmed scenes showing her face, the team ultimately decided it was a distraction from the story. Chu shared that the casting process focused on finding someone whose physicality would instantly convey the character, even without seeing their face – a challenge Bethany Weaver successfully met, earning her the role.

During auditions, we’d project a silhouette of each performer to assess their movement and how easily we could shape their walk. We were specifically looking for someone with a youthful presence, which is why we eventually selected a dancer.

Ultimately, Chu said he followed the guidance of the musical, saying:

Throughout the whole process, we kept coming back to something we learned from the original stage show. The creators emphasized that it was all about the female characters – whatever happened, their experiences were central. So whenever we found ourselves stuck on a decision, we’d ask ourselves, ‘What would Dorothy do?’ and that helped us stay focused on what truly mattered.

Dorothy’s Role in ‘Wicked: For Good’ Explained


Universal Pictures

Dorothy’s appearance in Wicked: For Good is essentially a brief, humorous cameo. She’s rarely shown clearly—the only close-up is a quick glimpse of her face as she walks past a window. While the audience sees events from Dorothy’s perspective when she’s carried away by the flying monkeys, most of her famous scenes, such as meeting the Wizard and starting her journey on the Yellow Brick Road, are filmed from behind or far away. Even the final scene with the hot air balloon shows her at a distance.

The musical Wicked briefly features characters inspired by Dorothy and her friends from The Wizard of Oz – Jonathan Bailey plays a character similar to the Scarecrow, Ethan Slater embodies the Tin Man, and Colman Domingo voices the Cowardly Lion. While some viewers wished for more scenes with these familiar characters, the director, Jon M. Chu, intentionally kept the focus on the central relationship between Elphaba and Glinda.

The movie Wicked: For Good is off to a fantastic start, earning $147 million in its opening weekend – making it the third-highest November debut ever, after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Experts predict strong continued success over the Thanksgiving holiday and believe it could be one of the year’s biggest films. Universal Pictures is even considering making sequels, potentially based on other books from the Wicked series or more stories from the original Wizard of Oz series – which could mean a larger role for Dorothy in future installments.

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2025-11-28 21:35