What does Glinda whisper to Elphaba? Wicked: For Good director explains final shot

24 November 2025, 17:29 | Updated: 25 November 2025, 11:19

By Sam Prance

The last shot of Wicked: For Good is a reference to the original Wicked musical poster but what does Glinda say?

Loading audio...

Cynthia Erivo has opened up about the final shot of Wicked: For Good and what Glinda actually whispers to Elphaba.

Ever since Wicked debuted on Broadway, fans have been obsessed with the original Wicked poster. In the now iconic illustration, Glinda whispers something into Elphaba's ear and Elphaba smirks in response. The scene never features in the actual musical but Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande recreated the poster to promote the first Wicked film.

However, Wicked: For Good goes one step further. The final shot of the film is a direct nod to the Wicked poster. In a flashback, we see Glinda whisper something in Elphaba's ear and the screen then fades to black. What does Glinda say to Elphaba though? Here's what Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu have revealed about the scene.

Read more: Can Glinda do magic? Ariana Grande explains Wicked: For Good's surprise ending
Read more: Wicked: For Good finally reveals mystery actress who plays Dorothy

Watch the final Wicked: For Good trailer

What does Glinda say to Elphaba in Wicked: For Good?

Discussing the film's final frame with TODAY.com, Jon M. Chu stated: "That image is not in the show, it was just on a poster, and the poster becomes so iconic. There's like, dissertations about that design, like, what are they saying? What does it mean? Is that friendship? Is that subversive? Is that a secret plan?"

As for why it's in the film, he explained: "I wanted to pay a nod to that, and have my own version of it."

When asked what Ariana said to her in that moment, Cynthia then interjected: "I would never say. I think it's why this movie feels the way it feels, because there are so many really beautifully intimate, sweet, private moments that you end up watching on the screen."

Ariana has also kept quiet on what she told Cynthia but Jon has teased what she whispered.

I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS, THE WAY I GASPED IN THE CINEMA. pic.twitter.com/2N77DYFaTO
— s ☼ (@sunshinesnati0n) November 23, 2025

Jon concluded: "I'm the only one who knows what the girls were saying to each other and they may have been even lying to me, so I could see them definitely whispering something that's not what they said to me. And I will never reveal that. That's for sure."

In other words, just like the original poster, you will have to imagine what Glinda is saying.

What does Glinda say to Elphaba in Wicked: For Good? Picture: Alamy

Discussing the shot further with Variety, Jon stated: “It was always the plan. I was always going to end on the whisper. Do you know how hard it was to force Universal to never use it in any marketing material? They even had a poster of it for the first movie, and I was like, ‘Why are we releasing this poster? We should never acknowledge the whisper."

He added: "I wanted it to feel like we didn’t care about it, then suddenly it’s the last shot in ‘For Good.’ So the studio never saw that final shot. I imposed a huge thing: ‘Do not show this shot!’ They wanted it so badly."

Explaining the meaning behind the shot, he said: "You don’t know what Glinda’s saying, because they never actually do that in the musical. But it’s sort of the key to friendship. That we have these secrets."