125 Years Later, Wicked: For Good Restores a Wizard of Oz Detail That the Classic Movie Changed

Wicked: For Good serves as a fascinating companion piece to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. While the Wicked movies don’t exist in the same canon as the classic musical (they’re an adaptation of a stage show that itself adapted a darker fantasy revisionist novel retelling the original book, not the movie, which… is not at all confusing), they’re nonetheless interesting to look at together, because Wicked: For Good does still exist in relation to The Wizard of Oz. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Wicked: For Good.

In the 2025 sequel, we see how Boq is transformed into the Tin Man, and Fiyero becomes the Scarecrow (both thanks to spells cast by Elphaba, with good intentions), and we also get the arrival in Oz of Dorothy Gale, who is brought there by a storm conjured by Madame Morrible. Dorothy, and her little dog too, plays a crucial role in Wicked: For Good, even though her face is never shown, as, like in The Wizard of Oz, she defeats the Wicked Witch (or so it seems). But even with her limited appearance, there are still some notable changes, especially in terms of her footwear.

Why Dorothy’s Shoes Are Silver, Not Ruby Red, In Wicked: For Good

Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz are the most iconic and recognizable movie footwear in history, and the most valuable piece of memorabilia too (one pair sold at auction last year for over $28 million, a record). You’d be forgiven, then, for wondering just why she doesn’t wear them in Wicked: For Good, which instead has her wearing a pair of silver shoes instead (a change first teased in Wicked, but much more prominently on display and a part of the narrative here).

This isn’t just a change to the 1939 movie, but actually restores the original text from author Frank L. Baum. In his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, they are indeed silver shoes. This was changed to ruby red for the film adaptation, because it would better show off the Technicolor process that was being used, allowing them to pop more and brilliantly contrasting the yellow brick road. Their broad story purpose (belonging to the Wicked Witch of the East, being given to Dorothy by Glinda, and transporting her home) remained. It did make another alteration, though, as in the movie, they can only be removed once the wearer is dead.

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Wicked: For Good actually does nod towards the color change, when Nessarose is wearing the shoes. When Elphaba casts a spell upon her that makes her float in the air, the silver shoes noticeably begin turning red, which is clearly designed as a reference to The Wizard of Oz. However, the new movie does have some gaps when it comes to the footwear, as it never explains how Glinda knew to give them to Dorothy, nor exactly how she gets home from Oz.

Who Plays Dorothy In Wicked: For Good & Why Her Face Is Never Shown

The cast of Wicked: For Good includes Bethany Weaver as Dorothy. Who would be taking on the role had been the subject of much speculation, but it’s now confirmed it was Weaver, a UK-based actress, dancer, and choreographer who has worked on a number of West End productions. Wicked: For Good, however, represents her movie debut – something she herself predicted (sort of) in an Instagram post in 2022, where she performed “The Wizard and I” with the caption “aggressively manifesting that one day I will be in wicked!”

Weaver is the person who dons the ruby slippers silver shoes, and puts on the blue-and-white gingham dress, but her face is never actually shown in the movie. This was a conscious choice to fit with the stage musical, where Dorothy only appears in silhouette, as well as to avoid overshadowing the main focus of the story, which is Glinda and Elphaba. It was also, as director Jon M. Chu told PEOPLE, an attempt not to “step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with.”

Wicked: For Good is now in theaters. Wicked is available to stream on Prime Video, while The Wizard of Oz is streaming on HBO Max.

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