As Elphaba Thropp once put it, “Every so often, we long to steal to the land of what-might-have-been.” And in this case, that’s the Wicked: For Good deleted scenes vault.
Ahead of the film’s at-home premiere on Dec. 30, Universal released a peek at one of the cut moments included among For Good’s bonus features. Shared by Entertainment Tonight, the flashback scene follows Elphaba, Glinda, Nessa, Boq, and Fiyero as they venture off the Shiz campus for a picnic. It’s a delightful montage — not least because it includes the buzzy but previously unseen moment Fiyero and Boq go shirtless.
A Sweet Surprise
In the deleted scene (set to “Dancing through Life” instrumentals), Boq leads his pals out to the woods where he’s prepared supplies for a net game. The girls set it up as Boq and Fiyero chop wood, with the prince opting to ditch his puffy white shirt to get the job done. Glinda swoons, and Elphaba can’t resist sneaking a peek herself.
Boq decides to follow suit, and Nessa looks on in glee. Later, during the game, Nessa lands a skillful hit, and the group celebrates with Fiyero and Boq bumping chests, which inspires Elphaba and Glinda to do the same.
Finally, the group unwinds on a picnic blanket with some good books (except a snoozing Fiyero, who, at this point in the story, still prefers to dance on books over reading them). Glinda tries to adjust her seemingly uncomfortable heels, prompting Elphaba to give her a pair of boots. They hug. (No, you’re crying!)
Why The Picnic Scene Was Cut
If you’ve been keeping up with Wicked updates for a while now, you know that a version of this montage was actually meant to appear in the first film. As seen in the script published by Deadline, it takes place after “Popular” — specifically, following the scene where Fiyero tells Elphaba, “You’ve been Galinda-field” — and before Dr. Dillamond is forcibly removed from Shiz.
The group’s loving, adorable outing makes their fates in For Good all the more devastating. As director Jon M. Chu told Collider last year, “It’s really funny and hilarious, but it just didn’t fit the tone of our movie at a certain point. But maybe eventually, someone will see that.”
Fortunately, that day has come — and there are more deleted scenes where that comes from. According to Today, additional cut footage includes Elphaba going home to the Governor’s Mansion in Munchkinland, Glinda embarking upon a train tour, and more.
