Wicked’s Emotional Conclusion: Jeff Goldblum’s Life-Altering Confession and Jonathan Bailey’s ‘Sexy’ Chemistry Reveal the True Magic of Oz

As the release of Wicked: For Good draws near, promising an epic and heartfelt conclusion to the story of Glinda and Elphaba, the principal cast and crew are lifting the veil on the intense emotional and personal transformations that defined the creation of this cinematic event. From a leading man finding his confidence to a screen legend making a shocking life change, the final chapter of Oz is proving to be as much about the actors’ journeys as the characters they play. This is more than a movie; it’s a cultural phenomenon built on vulnerability, artistic genius, and a shared, profound commitment to the story’s core message of courage and kindness.

The Heart of Fiyero: Bailey’s Defense Mechanism and the ‘Sexy’ Duet

For Jonathan Bailey, stepping back into the role of Fiyero in Wicked: For Good was an opportunity to showcase a monumental character arc. He promises fans an “epic conclusion” where Fiyero undergoes a complete transformation. Initially introduced as a shallow, cocky figure—a kind of “firework display” as he describes it—Bailey reveals that his character’s bravado was merely a “defense mechanism.” Beneath the surface, Fiyero was always kind, and this fundamental goodness drives his ultimate journey.

“In the first film, he was a sort of Katherine Will firework display,” Bailey notes. “But as true to life, as he makes decisions and he commits to something meaningful, he becomes sort of calmer in his power, actually.” This commitment, of course, is to Elphaba, and Bailey highlights the profound nature of Fiyero’s choice: “He throws everything away to support someone who is standing up within her power, and I think that’s… amazing.”

This profound bond culminates in a moment fans of the Broadway show have waited years to see on screen: the famous duet, “As Long as You’re Mine,” sung with Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba). Bailey’s recollection of filming the song speaks to the raw, intimate power the movie is striving for. The song, which he calls one of his favorites and grew up listening to, carries a nostalgic, late-’90s energy with its synth score. More importantly, he describes the scene itself as “sexy” and driven by themes of “discovery and curiosity.” Working with Erivo, a celebrated genius in her own right, allowed him to “just discover all of it.”

Beyond the character, the role has had a lasting personal impact on Bailey. Reflecting on how Fiyero has changed him “for good,” the actor admits it was “immeasurably.” He credits the “extraordinary people” on set, who helped him to “gain my confidence in who I am and in abilities.” Witnessing the “magic” of a production of this scale, involving hundreds of crew members, has been the “honor of a lifetime,” cementing his place not just in a film, but in “cinema history.”

The Wizard’s Deep Confession: Goldblum’s Shocking Transformation

If Bailey’s change was about gaining confidence, Jeff Goldblum’s transformation after playing The Wizard of Oz was a deeply personal and life-altering ethical shift. The beloved actor, who has always brought a signature eccentric energy to his roles, found himself indelibly changed by the complexity and moral failings of his character.

The Wizard, as Goldblum explains, is “complicated”—quite human, “tempted by increased status,” and harboring deep “family secrets” that will be divulged. Critically, his character has a dark side, which involves what the actor vaguely refers to as “cruelty to animals.” This aspect of The Wizard’s narrative struck Goldblum to his core, leading to a shocking off-screen confession.

“The way they changed me, indescribable,” Goldblum says, reflecting on the experience. He dramatically claims his “blood and my molecules and my nervous system will never be the same.” But the most tangible, profound change he revealed to reporters was his decision to stop eating meat. “You know what I’ve done since the movie? I stopped eating meat,” he declares, confirming he has “truly been changed for good.” It is a stunning example of how the ethical dilemmas at the heart of Wicked resonated beyond the screen and into the performers’ personal lives.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Goldblum also had moments of sheer delight on set, particularly when filming a musical number with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. He calls the experience “delicious” and the “most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” praising director John M. Chu’s vision while noting they also got to “improvise and we made some things up.” This balance of serious, impactful storytelling with infectious on-set joy perfectly captures the duality that makes Wicked such a compelling universe.

The Dark Turn: Boq and Nessa’s Journey to the Extremes

The story of Wicked is one of origin, showing that “everybody deserves an origin story and not everything is as it seems,” a sentiment echoed by Marissa Bod (Nessa Rose). This focus is especially critical for the secondary characters, Boq and Nessa Rose, whose paths take a dramatic, sour turn in For Good.

Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, explains that his character arc is fundamentally about how internal turmoil can physically manifest. Slater found his way into Boq by focusing on his inherent goodness: he has a lot of love, wants to fit in, and genuinely cares about his friends. However, the film explores what happens when that genuine love is unrequited and life doesn’t turn out as expected. “Resentment and things like that builds up—how that changes a person,” Slater explains. He reveals that Boq’s profound journey is about letting loneliness and resentment morph into “unhealthy” anger—an emotion that can “ruin your life” if allowed to lead. This emotional breakdown, which he discussed with director Chu from day one, drives Boq’s own dramatic physical transformation in the second film, which he promises will shock audiences.

For Marissa Bod, playing the darker, more alternative Nessa Rose required an immense emotional commitment. Given the “time jump” between the two films, Bod took a serious, “method” approach, specifically to “fill in the blanks” of her character’s dramatic turn. She admitted to needing a lot of time to decompress and famously journaled extensively as Nessa to understand the exact moment her character’s spirit began to harden.

“I did tell Ethan ahead of time, I was like, ‘Just so you know, it’s like nothing on you, I will be in my tent most of the time and taking more time to decompress just for myself,’” Bod says, emphasizing that this was for the performance, not a reflection of her personal feelings. Her commitment to Nessa’s complexity is rooted in the film’s core value: “The most important thing to me is the platform that it’s given me to share my voice and speak to not just my community but uplift the voices of other communities.” Her dedication ensures that even in her darkness, Nessa Rose remains a relatable, deeply human character.

The Visionary and the Rainbow: John M. Chu’s Epic

Director John M. Chu, the maestro behind the entire two-part saga, affirms that Wicked: For Good is the “epic conclusion” where the audience will discover how much Elphaba and Glinda “changed each other.” He explains that their friendship is defined by mutual support, each giving the other “courage” and heading into the unknown future with “even more possibility and bigger dreams than they could have ever imagined.”

However, even the most ambitious, meticulously planned productions sometimes rely on a little magic. Chu revealed a truly remarkable phenomenon that occurred repeatedly during the year and a half of filming in the UK. “That rainbow descended down throughout all the production,” he recalls. The natural occurrence showed up so often that the crew came to see it as a spiritual sign: a “touch by God saying, ‘Keep going, keep going.’”

This divine encouragement was necessary because, as Chu admits, the production was incredibly challenging. “It was hard, but good things don’t come from easy places, they come from hard places.” Despite the difficulty, the director speaks of the cast and crew with palpable affection, describing them as a “weird circus family” that is bound by high expectations. “We expect the most from each other, we expect greatness from each other, and we push each other and we believe in each other more than we believe in ourselves.”

This collective effort, from the hundreds of artisans—the background actors, painters, sculptors, and costumers—who contributed to building the incredibly detailed world of Oz, has resulted in a film where “not a single frame… isn’t filled with just absolute attention to detail, perfection, and joy.”

The consensus from the red carpet is clear: Wicked: For Good is not just a high-budget fantasy film; it is a profound piece of “real human storytelling” that has irrevocably altered the lives of those who created it. From Jeff Goldblum’s personal sacrifice to Jonathan Bailey’s career-defining moment, the movie is steeped in an emotional authenticity that promises to resonate with audiences across the globe. As Marissa Bod urges, people need to “run to the cinema” to see this story unfold, a cultural moment that will undoubtedly cement its place in cinema history when it arrives this November.