No Legitimate Reviews for 'Wicked: For Good' Ahead of November 26 Premiere

As of November 21, 2025, there are no legitimate reviews for 'Wicked: For Good' — not because critics didn’t want to see it, but because they weren’t allowed to. The film, officially titled 'Wicked Part Two', hasn’t been screened for journalists yet. Universal Pictures, the studio behind the musical phenomenon, has locked down its review embargo with military precision: no reviews can appear until 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, November 24, 2025. Any claim otherwise? Fabricated. And Snopes.com has already labeled those fake reviews as "Pants on Fire".

Why No Reviews Yet? It’s Not a Secret — It’s Policy

Here’s the thing: studios don’t just release movies. They orchestrate them. And for a film expected to gross over $150 million in its opening weekend, timing is everything. Universal Pictures, a division of Comcast Corporation, enforces strict embargoes on all major releases — especially ones tied to Broadway legends and pop icons. The policy isn’t arbitrary. It’s designed to give critics time to watch, reflect, and write thoughtful critiques — not rushed hot takes that might leak early and skew public perception.

Julia Felsenthal, Senior Vice President of Global Publicity at Universal Pictures, made it crystal clear in a November 18 statement: "Any review published before 9:00 PM EST on November 24 violates our contractual agreements and is unauthorized." That’s not a suggestion. It’s a legal binding. Critics who break it risk losing access to future premieres — and that’s a career killer in Hollywood.

The Cast, Crew, and the Machine Behind the Magic

The film’s success hinges on the same powerhouse team that made 'Wicked Part One' a $515.4 million global hit. At the helm is Jon M. Chu, the director who brought the stage spectacle to life with cinematic grandeur. Born in Mountain View, California, and now 46, Chu has spent years refining the visual language of Wicked — from Elphaba’s swirling green smoke to the haunting beauty of the Emerald City.

Reprising their roles are Cynthia Erivo, 37, as the outcast witch Elphaba, and Ariana Grande, 32, as the dazzling Galinda. Their chemistry, already lauded in Part One, is the emotional core of this sequel. Behind the scenes, producer Marc Platt, 67, has been shepherding this project since its inception. His company, Marc Platt Productions, based in Los Angeles, has been instrumental in securing rights, funding, and talent across both films.

Principal photography wrapped on August 15, 2024, at Sky Studios Elstree in Hertfordshire, UK — a sprawling complex where over 127 days of shooting transformed soundstages into Oz. The British Film Institute’s registry confirms the timeline, adding credibility to the production’s meticulous planning.

The Fake Reviews and the Internet’s Obsession

Despite the embargo, a handful of websites have published fake reviews — one even using the line, "Sorry, my pretty," a phrase lifted from the 1997 film L.A. Confidential, not Wicked. Snopes.com, the fact-checking giant headquartered in Austin, Texas, flagged these claims as outright falsehoods on November 19, 2025. The fake reviews often cite non-existent quotes, fake critic names, and invented scores. One even claimed a 4.5-star rating from "The New York Times" — which never published a review because, well, they’re following the embargo too.

These fabrications aren’t harmless. They create false buzz, confuse audiences, and risk undermining the genuine anticipation built over the past year. Universal has reportedly contacted domain registrars and social media platforms to have these posts removed — but the internet moves faster than legal teams.

What Happens Next? The Premiere and Box Office Forecast

The world premiere of 'Wicked Part Two' is set for Monday, November 25, 2025, at 7:00 PM GMT at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London. Attendees include Chu, Platt, Erivo, Grande, Jonathan Bailey (who plays Fiyero), and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard. It’s a star-studded event — and the first time the cast will see the finished film together.

Then, at 12:01 AM local time on November 26, the film opens globally. Universal’s internal forecasting, based on Part One’s $118.2 million U.S. opening and the massive fanbase cultivated through streaming, predicts a $152.7 million opening weekend in North America alone. That would make it the biggest musical opening since Beauty and the Beast in 2017 — and possibly the highest-grossing film of 2025.

The first official press screening? Saturday, November 23, at 10:00 AM EST at AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City. That’s when the real reviews will begin to flow — and the internet will finally have something true to talk about.

Why This Matters Beyond Box Office Numbers

This isn’t just about a movie. It’s about how Hollywood protects its most valuable assets: audience trust and critical integrity. In an age where AI-generated reviews and viral misinformation can sway opinions before a film even opens, Universal’s stance is a quiet rebellion. They’re saying: let the art speak — but on its own terms.

For fans who’ve waited over a year since Part One, the wait is agonizing. But it’s also part of the ritual. The anticipation, the theories, the fan art — it’s all part of the Wicked experience. And when those reviews finally drop on November 24, they won’t just be critiques. They’ll be the first real conversations about what this story means — not just as entertainment, but as a cultural moment.