Wicked is set to be released across two films, giving the theatrical musical an expanded scope — which might be the ideal way to tweak one of its most underserved characters. Wicked expands on many of the characters from The Wizard of Oz, reimagining them with new depth. It helped reinvent straight-forward characters like the Wicked Witch of the West into more complex figures like Elphaba, adding important layers to the classic fantasy story.
This extends to the Wicked Witch of the East, who is only briefly present in most versions of the story. By contrast, Wicked‘s cast of characters includes Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister, and gives her a bigger role than is often seen. In theory, she’s a fascinating showcase of how love can be warped into something villainous. However, Nessa doesn’t get nearly as much depth as other figures in the story, leaving a potentially complex character to be a plot device that suffers an inevitable fate. Luckily, the expanded cinematic plans for the Wicked movie present the ideal way to address that problem.
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Wicked’s Two-Part Release Plan Could Give Nessarose More Screentime
Nessa deserves more exploration in Wicked, and the film’s two-part structure could be the perfect means to expand the character. Nessa is introduced in the Wicked musical’s first act as both Elphaba’s sister and a fellow student at Shiz University. However, she is largely relegated to the background as a motivator for Elphaba, with her infatuation for the (largely uninterested) Munchkin Boq becoming a primary story. This carries on even after the time skip in the second act, by which point Nessa has become the surprisingly cruel leader of Munchkinland.
Nessa is hinted to be powerful in her own right, with her thwarted love story and eventual corruption becoming a tragic contrast to Elphaba’s arc. In the end, though, despite this rich potential, Nessa is relatively flat when compared to the rest of the characters. The longer run-time of Wicked‘s two-part film adaption could afford room for Nessa to be a more constant presence in the story, especially early on. This additional screen time could give her more personality and increase audience empathy while sewing the seeds for her dark turn in the second part of the story.
Why Nessarose Deserves A Bigger Story In Wicked
]Nessa is a loving but flawed person, and that dangerous combo leads her to do terrible things. She should be heartbreaking. However, the Wicked musical ends up using her much more as a plot device than an actual character. Her most important role is dying, introducing Dorothy and pushing Elphaba to further embrace her role as the Wicked Witch. The tragic turn is more about the role it plays in further ruining the friendship between Elphaba and Galinda than it is about Nessa herself.
The musical is focused on Elphaba, not Nessa, so this makes sense from a storytelling perspective. However, the Wicked movie having two parts means some characters have room to be expanded, and Nessa is the perfect candidate. Increased screen time would add emotional resonance to her eventual fate and make it even more painful for the audience. It would transform an inevitable piece of the Wicked story into a tragedy in its own right.
Wicked
- Release Date
- November 27, 2024
- Director
- Jon M. Chu
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum
- Writers
- Winnie Holzman , Stephen Schwartz
