Nerdly » ‘Wicked: For Good’ 4K UHD Review

13th Mar2026

‘Wicked: For Good’ 4K UHD Review

by Henry Godfrey-Evans

Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Colman Domingo, Bethany Weaver, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang | Written by Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox | Directed by Jon M. Chu

For a story that’s so critical of “black and white” perceptions, Wicked: For Good‘s reviews have been incredibly polarised. It has been mere minutes since the credits rolled, and I have opted to jump on my laptop before the adrenaline has left my body. I tend to think capturing the feeling is harder to do as time passes. Take that as a small hint that the volume and spectacle are comparable to the first film.

Storywise, the task is gargantuan. To pick up from Defying Gravity and then immediately arrange the chess pieces for Dorothy and her gang of misfits to enter the frame… it had so much to do, and it does it in less runtime. Unfortunately, I thought the more serious tone of an all-out war was less interesting than the first film’s slow build-up of dread, confusion and then the penny drop. The first film also shone in its moments of levity and comedy, of which part two had fewer.

I spotted the horrible trope of using silly misunderstandings to create conflict so that the plot could get where it needed to be. The whole thing felt like it had less breathing space. The songs were also weaker.

However… the EMOTION is where it simply had to deliver, and it did eventually.

I will come away from Wicked: For Good vehemently defending Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for bawling their eyes out all the way through the press tour. It seems like they truly felt the story. Their commitment is reflected in their performances, and I think both should come away with a lot of credit.

Ariana, in particular, has surprised me immensely. I still cannot believe how much she brought to Glinda. Her character was the epitome of shallow, while also pouring out pure emotion in her scenes with Elphaba. That is a tough ask and, wow, did she excel. Their final scene together is utterly fantastic, and I think I would have filled a bucket with my tears if I had been on set with them during filming – as I’m sure they did.

As a storyline across both parts, it is such a brave concept. To reframe a classic tale of good and evil by adding scenes that we did not see before. It turned triumphant scenes into poignant ones, and it made empowered characters from ones we had once perceived as terrifying. Propaganda was another of its themes that I think even children would have picked up on. If the younger audience comes away sceptical of hegemony and equipped with critical thinking skills, then we have done okay. Don’t you think?

The 4K Ultra HD release of Wicked: For Good arrives with a native 2160p transfer encoded in HEVC / H.265, presented in the film’s original 2.39:1 aspect ratio and enhanced with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 for improved contrast, colour depth and visual clarity. Audio is led by an English Dolby Atmos track, with an additional English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 option, while Castilian Spanish, French European and Italian audio are included via Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 tracks. Subtitle options include English SDH, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. The following extras are also included on this release:

Special Features:

THEATRICAL & SING-ALONG VERSIONS
Deleted Scenes
Making WICKED: FOR GOOD
The True Wizard
More Than Just a Place
The Girl in the Bubble
Kiamo Ko
Feature Commentary with Director Jon M. Chu

Wicked: For Good was less entertaining than the first. I felt sustained stretches of boredom and a twang of disappointment. However, the final flourish was genuinely not far from being perfect.