Wicked movie script reveals cut scenes and easter eggs

One of the most fascinating experiences of any movie is knowing what might’ve ended up on the cutting room floor, and what may have been part of the original vision.

In the case of Wicked (which has just crossed half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office), that fascination is doubled because of the fact the movie is based on an existing stage show – so aspects of the very stage book have also now been transposed (or not transposed) to the movie.

With Deadline now releasing the original Wicked screenplay (NOT the book from the stage show), movie fans have the chance to see what Winnie Holzman (who wrote the book for the stage production) and Dana Fox had in store.

Combing through the screenplay’s scenes, there are some interesting inclusions that didn’t make the final film – for example, Glinda’s classic stage line about “innuendo, outuendo” in the opening scenes was originally in the film, but didn’t make the final cut. Also in that first scene – in the original script, Glinda is much more coy about being Elphaba’s friend than she is in the film. In the text, the “flashback” moments that follow here are much less explicit – showing “a younger Glinda (Ariana Grande) sits, arm in arm, with someone dressed in black, with black hair, whose face we can’t see.” In the film, we very much see Cynthia Erivo‘s face from the off. 

Moving to Shiz University, Glinda (or Galinda as she was back then) has a much longer introduction to her two friends Pfannee and ShenShen (wonderfully comedic turns from Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James). The trio apparently met at Miss Cringeable’s Twirling Academy, though Galinda has no memory of this. Glinda also has a glowing line about Madame Morrible’s shoes, which also don’t make the cut. 

On the subject of animals, there’s a small reference to creatures only able to communicate after dark if they have “speech permits”, an interesting bureaucratic reference to the oppression going on. These are removed, likely because they suggest the Wizard’s regime itself is at fault (which is later revealed to be the case). Elphaba’s vision during “Something Bad” is also much more epic – rather than simply Doctor Dillamond in a cage, it shows a whole farmyard of baying animals penned in, unable to talk.

As Fiyero arrives, originally his horse Feldspur was meant to be “multicolored” (a rainbow horse!). This arrival was also meant to involve an elaborate passage with a newspaper billowing in the wind (much like a certain Kansas resident’s house) and encountering multiple characters, all of which was cut. The reference to The Wizard of Oz cannot be missed though! One small interaction not in the text is between Pfannee and Fiyero, which looks like it was written later.

One character that had lines in the original script is Aaron Teoh’s Avaric, who has a small interaction with Nessa before she is asked out by Boq in “Dancing Through Life” – perhaps suggesting that she was more popular than the film lets us see. The early section of “Dancing Through Life” had more Elphaba in it originally (she essentially glowers through most of the number). Fiyero’s now legendary interaction with the librarian (played by the equally legendary Cherida Strallen) is also omitted from the script – she instead is won over by reading a romance novel.

“Dancing Through Life” continues to have more alterations – in the script, Fiyero enters the Ozdust ballroom through a lotus leaf after a coded handshake with a turtle bouncer (not a sentence you expect to write).

In the script, they drink some punch, which Boq says contains “lemons and melons and pears” – another reference to the “lions and tigers and bears” from The Wizard of Oz. 

We also see Morrible being rather officious with the turtle – maybe foreshadowing her actual opinion of animals, seen further on in the film. Later on, when Galinda and Elphaba begin dancing in “Dancing Through Life”, there’s more dialogue (it does feel much more powerful when wordless in the film).

After this, their friendship begins. Before “Popular”, Galinda’s famous bed slump from the film is omitted from the script directions, though the vast majority of that number is the same as it ends up in the final product.

Next comes one of the biggest omissions from the final film – a friendship montage featuring Elphaba, Galinda, Fiyero, Boq and Nessa. Within this omitted scene is a cackling laugh from Elphaba (a reference to the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz), Boq chopping down a tree (another reference to the film!) and a moment involving Elphaba taking off Galinda’s high-heeled shoes (lots of shoe nods, of course). As already causing a flutter on social media, a thirst-trap moment involving both a topless Boq and Fiyero is also removed.

This culminates in a “Dancing Through Life” reprise and the group linking arms through a field of poppies (more Oz), all removed from the film.

One interesting note is how often “gravity” is mentioned when discussing Elphaba’s powers – a clear nod to the final number of the film. Speaking about Elphaba’s quirks, there’s also a direct nod to Elphaba “not getting wet” – a rumour started by Pfannee and ShenShen. There’s also a small “Wizard and I” reprise between Morrible and Elphaba before “One Short Day” – completely cut.

On the train platform to Oz, there’s an extended meeting between Elphaba, Governor Thropp, Nessa and Dulcibear (who is wordless!). It always struck me as odd that Andy Nyman’s Governor Thropp is at the station to see his daughter off to meet the Wizard, but never actually interacts with her.

A lot of plot padding for act two is set up during this station scene – Boq confesses his feelings to Galinda in an extended conversation, which then exacerbates Nessarose’s sense of insecurity around Boq (all removed). Even Avaric gets another mention here when Galinda tells Nessarose that “there are other boys. Who you may not have noticed. Who’ve noticed you.”

This then leads to a one-to-one conversation between Elphaba and Boq, where he confesses he “still has hope” he can end up with Galinda – Elphaba is fairly blunt in saying “you shouldn’t.” Boq then also tells Elphaba she has feelings for Fiyero – the statement naturally met with incredulity.

Elphaba and Glinda (now renamed) reach the Emerald City (there’s a section where the green light is meant to make Glinda’s skin glow green, but this doesn’t happen in the film. A very funny namecheck to director Jon M Chu’s Crazy Rich Asians, here “Crazy Rich Ozians”, is featured in the directions, while there’s also a sign for a beauty salon with the words “off to see the Wizard? See us first!”

Wiz-o-Mania is very different in the script – meant to be set on a theme park ride like an Oz version of It’s A Small World.

A lot of the film’s climax plays out as seen on film, with a slightly unconventional “Sentimental Man” reprise – thankfully cut as it would’ve undercut the tension. Glinda is also much more vocally on the side of the Wizard and Morrible, making her cooperation with them in the second film perhaps more straightforward.

The dialogue and lyric placement across “Defying Gravity” is somewhat different, and we see Thrupp’s death more sharply depicted (in the film it’s very much out of focus). The film is meant to wrap up with Elphaba “exploding into hyperdrive” – a proper Star Wars reference if you need one – but in the film, we stay on her face as she soars off into the western sky. Which, given she’s the protagonist, feels a bit more apt.

So there you go! What might have been (or what gets released in deleted scenes)…

For more of a deepdive into Wicked, make sure you listen to our features editor Tanyel Gumushan’s fantastic interview with costume designer Paul Tazewell:

Wicked is in cinemas now.