a third wicked

why the story is finished

the stage musical has two acts and the films took one each. everything from elphaba and glinda meeting at shiz to the staged melting and glinda's ascendancy is now on screen. there is no third act sitting unadapted, which is the structural reason a third film is not simply pending.

the ending of for good also closes it deliberately — elphaba alive and gone, glinda governing and grieving, and a final flashback that recreates the musical's poster. that is a full stop rather than a door left open.

what material would exist

what has actually been said

the screenwriter and director have both been asked and have neither confirmed nor ruled anything out, in the way people talk when a film has just made $540 million and nobody wants to close a door. that is not an announcement and should not be read as one.

there is a separate and more practical obstacle. grande has announced a step back from public-facing work with no end date, and withdrew from two projects during 2026. a third wicked would need both leads for at least a year of shooting plus a press cycle, and one of them is currently not doing press cycles.

what is actually coming

• focker in-law, 25 november 2026, already shot. her only dated live-action release.
• oh, the places you'll go, 17 march 2028, an animated dr. seuss musical directed by jon m. chu — who made both wicked films. that is the actual continuation of the chu working relationship.
• nothing else with a date. which is the whole of the answer to what comes next.

if what you want is more of the two of them together, the more likely form is not a film. cynthia erivo joined her on stage at the o2 in august 2026 for two songs, which is the only new wicked material anybody has actually seen since the second film.