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“Wicked For Good” is causing niche fandom wars over its continuity with original “The Wizard of Oz”

Wicked: For Good has finally hit theaters, and the second installment is causing a lot of discourse on social media.

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Fans of the musical remember debates about Act II from 20 years ago, and the conversations aren't much different today. One of the biggest discussions? The Wizard of Oz continuity.

Warning: Wicked: For Good spoilers ahead!

Fans feud over The Wizard of Oz continuity in Wicked

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While Wicked: For Good is partially set during the events of The Wizard of Oz, the two stories aren't exactly a 1:1. One of the biggest differences is the Wicked Witch of the East's shoes. In the original 1939 film, Dorothy wore ruby red slippers.

However, in the original book by Frank Baum, they were silver. The musical opted to take the original route.

dorothy wizard of oz
Warner On Demand/YouTube

One of the biggest connections between The Wizard of Oz and Wicked is the Tin Man and Scarecrow. In the original, Dorothy finds the two on her journey to meet the Wizard, and they all become best pals. In the musical, we learn the Tin Man is Boq (Ethan Slater) and the Scarecrow is Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey).

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Knowing their history with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), their behavior in The Wizard of Oz doesn't line up with their behavior in Wicked.

cynthia erivo as elphaba wicked
Universal Pictures UK/YouTube

Meanwhile, the original Glinda uses magic to get Dorothy back home, while this Glinda (Ariana Grande) doesn't possess magic. (Although, one could argue that the shoes still had a little leftover juice from Elphaba's spell.)

Either way, you'll drive yourself crazy if you try to completely align Wicked: For Good with The Wizard of Oz.

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Fans express their views on social media

While fans of the Wicked stage show are getting frustrated with these recycled debates, newcomers to the franchise aren't holding back when it comes to their frustrations with the film's connections to The Wizard of Oz.

People feel quite strongly about this.

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for the last fucking time, THE WIZARD OF OZ IS NOT CONNECTED TO WICKED!!!!!!!! the wicked witch in the wizard of oz is not elphaba and the scarecrow is not fiyero!!!!!!!! none of this happens in wicked!!!!!!!!!!
@WONDEROUSW0MAN/X
Wicked is fanfiction of the wizard of Oz!!! Yes they are connected!!! Wicked is not canon to the original story but Wicked (play and movies!!) is based on the movie!! When you see the play, you understand what's happening with Dorothy because it's what happened in the movie
@DamnFicca/X
Trying to understand people who think Wicked and The Wizard Of Oz take place in the same universe/timeline like….
@ThatBrashBlonde/X
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While others think the whole thing was handled poorly.

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Because Wicked literally doesn't give a damn about the original. Everyone needs to stop trying to connect them because the writers sure did.
@JaxTeller718/X

It's safe to say that people have been changed for good.

i think you guys might be thinking about the continuity between wizard of oz and wicked too much
@michaelcollado/X
I think you guys think Wicked is…more connected to The Wizard of Oz than it actually is?
@C_GraceT/X
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The interesting thing to me about Wicked’s relationship to Wizard of Oz is it’s an ambiguous IP bit. The novel and musical have to be technically based on the public domain novels but also allude to the MGM film as the best known iteration of Oz (like the Witch being green.)
@VK_HM/X

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