We can’t believe how much Wicked: For Good wasted the perfect voice actor for the Cowardly Lion in the recent sequel. There was a huge amount of excitement to see the Cowardly Lion team up with Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) in Wicked: For Good, especially among fans who weren’t aware of details from the long-running stage-show. The casting choices for this foursome were perfect, particularly for the nervous feline himself, but the movie failed to give him the attention he deserved.
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Two-time back-to-back Academy Award-nominee Colman Domingo joined the cast of Wicked: For Good in October 2025 as the voice of the Cowardly Lion. This casting was remarkably exciting, as Domingo has recently been amazing audiences in Rustin, Sing Sing, The Color Purple, The Four Seasons, and more. Unfortunately, the Cowardly Lion only got two very short lines in For Good when he fights back against Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), in the woods. We can’t believe For Good didn’t give Domingo more to do, as this seemed a poor use of his incredible talents.
What Is the Cowardly Lion’s Story in Wicked & Wicked: For Good?
We first caught a glimpse of the Cowardly Lion in the first chapter of Wicked back in November 2024, when he was just a cub. The creature was brought before Elphaba and Galinda’s (Ariana Grande-Butera) history class after the removal of anthropomorphic goat professor Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage) by the twisted Professor Nikidik (Colin Michael Carmichael). The cub had been caged, and therefore faced the possibility of never learning to speak, which angered Elphaba. She used her telekinetic powers to spread poppy dust around the room, knocking everyone out, and giving her the chance to get the cub to safety.
Together with Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), Elphaba took the cub to the woods and set it free. Little did she know that this act would actually turn the little creature against her, as, while the cub grew up with freedom and gained the ability of speech, he harbors resentment towards Elphaba for taking him away from the only home he knew. Elphaba is later blamed for causing the lion’s cowardice, as he may have been braver if he’d been allowed to fight his own battles. Whether this is true or not, Elphaba’s actions led the development of one of The Wizard of Oz and Wicked’s most iconic characters.
This also marked the first time she really bonded with future lover Fiyero, and caused her radicalization against the animal subjugation happening throughout Oz. Without Elphaba and Fiyero taking the cub to safety, she perhaps never would have become the Wicked Witch of the West. Of course, this in turn means that Fiyero wouldn’t have become the Scarecrow, and Boq Woodsman (Ethan Slater) wouldn’t have become the Tin Man. While Bailey and Slater got some action in their iconic The Wizard of Oz roles, however, Domingo’s voice role as the Cowardly Lion was minuscule, which was a huge shame.
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