Stephen Schwartz Admits ‘Wicked: For Good’ Team Feels the Weight of Expectations Ahead of November 2025 Premiere

The emerald-hued road to Oz is paved with record-breaking success — and mounting pressure. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz says the creative team behind Wicked: For Good, Universal Pictures’ sequel to last year’s smash-hit Wicked, is “a little nervous” as the film races toward its 21 November 2025 release date.

Speaking on the Songwriters Hall of Fame red carpet, where he accepted the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award, Schwartz acknowledged that the reception to Wicked “raises the bar” for part two. The first installment became the highest-grossing screen adaptation of a Broadway musical worldwide, vaulting past Mamma Mia! after crossing $634 million over Christmas and ultimately climbing to $756 million at the global box office.

Awards attention amplified the spotlight. Wicked earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and acting nods for stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, both of whom reprise their roles as Elphaba and Glinda in the sequel.

Schwartz, 77, is still “working really hard” on the score, with full orchestral sessions slated for July. Director Jon M. Chuand Universal have locked the Thanksgiving-week release and recently unveiled a teaser trailer, whetting fans’ appetites nearly a year in advance.

While Oz commands most of his attention, Schwartz is also polishing a separate Broadway project, “The Queen of Versailles.” Reuniting him with original stage Glinda Kristin Chenoweth, the new show shifts settings from the Yellow Brick Road to contemporary America (with flashes of 17th-century France).

Chenoweth returned the favor at the Hall of Fame gala, joining former Broadway Elphaba Mary Kate Morrissey for a show-stopping rendition of “For Good” before presenting Schwartz with his latest honor.

Universal has not announced additional casting or new musical numbers for Wicked: For Good, but insiders note that the sequel will expand the second act of the stage musical, much as part one fleshed out Elphaba and Glinda’s early days at Shiz. The studio will hope to match, if not surpass, the first film’s $163 million opening-weekend record for a Broadway adaptation.

With scoring sessions imminent, marketing already under way, and fans eager for another trip beyond the rainbow, Schwartz concedes that nerves come with the territory. “If we do our jobs,” he said, “audiences will feel they’ve been changed for good again.”