Why Wicked's For Good Handles Dorothy Better Than You Think

If you were wondering how Wicked: For Good would handle Dorothy without turning into a Wizard of Oz remake, good news: the movie finds a smart, surgical way to include her without hijacking the story you actually came to see.

Quick refresher: how the stage show treats Dorothy

In the Broadway musical, Dorothy is more of a rumor than a person. You hear about her. You feel her impact. You even see a silhouette lob that famous bucket of water near the end. But she never steps into the spotlight. The point is always Elphaba and Glinda.

What the movie does

Universal and Jon M. Chu keep that same energy. Dorothy shows up in Wicked: For Good, which is now in US theaters, but barely. Her screen time is tiny, and the camera never shows her face. The classic Oz plot points are there, just mostly off to the side — referenced more than replayed. It is intentionally not The Wizard of Oz, and the movie treats it that way.

Why keep Dorothy off-camera?

• Focus: This is Elphaba and Glinda's story — starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — not a stealth Dorothy movie.
• Avoiding comparisons: The second you show Dorothy's face, the Judy Garland discourse explodes. No thanks.
• Staying true to the source: The musical never centers Dorothy, and the film respects that structure.

Chu's thinking, straight from the source

"I didn't want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with. [This] is still Elphaba and Glinda's journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it."

Does it feel odd?

Maybe for a second — you know the beats, you can practically hear the ruby slippers clicking just off-camera. But it works. Keeping Dorothy largely unseen dodges a lot of baggage and keeps the spotlight where it belongs. If you already know how the house lands, who she meets, and where that yellow brick road leads, you do not need a recap. You need the Wicked version of events — and that is exactly what the movie gives you.