Many of the original characters return in this sequel, and we get several tangential links to ‘The Wizard of Oz’. We never actually see Dorothy’s face, but we glimpse her and her companions on the Yellow Brick Road. These moments, though, are secondary to the film’s main focus: the evolving relationship between the witches. As with the first Wicked, the film questions what “wicked” really means and challenges the binary labels we’re used to. Once again, the so-called Wicked Witch emerges as by far the more sympathetic and principled figure – even an animal-rights activist.

The songs this time are less familiar, and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, is presented as the public figurehead of Oz. Yet, very much in the vein of ‘Doctor Faustus’ (or even Lady Macbeth), she is being steered and manipulated by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), without ever seeing the bigger picture.

The political allegory is strong: Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba is deemed an enemy of the state, and her resistance to the regime takes the shape of a kind of guerrilla warfare. The film also introduces several intriguing threads. Dorothy is largely unseen, but we are given origin stories for both the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. It recalls ‘Back to the Future Part II’ in the way it revisits events from the original story but reframes them from a new angle, suggesting that characters often have far less agency than they believe.

There’s even a touch of ‘Paradise Lost’, with a world of celestial figures – angels, witches, and outcasts – whose stories run parallel to those of the human characters. Themes of rebellion, exile, and the longing to return to one’s original state run through the film.

There’s also a familiar Hollywood trope at work: the seemingly perfect romantic match that isn’t quite what it appears. Prince Fiyero and Glinda look ideal together, and their engagement is clearly engineered to present Oz with a picture-perfect royal wedding. But his true feelings lie elsewhere – with the green-skinned, self-doubting Elphaba, who can’t quite believe he might genuinely choose her. The film also hints that the deeper, more significant bond – perhaps romantic, certainly emotional – is actually between Elphaba and Glinda themselves.

Intriguingly, the film even positions Dorothy as something of an accidental antagonist, thanks to her water-dousing moment. And like the current trend in ‘Star Wars’ or the expanding James Bond universe, this film seems to be paving the way for further spin-offs: backstories for every character in the Oz mythology, dovetailing with the central storyline but each following its own version of the hero’s journey.