Wicked: For Good costume designer shares why Dorothy’s iconic Ruby slippers aren’t red in sequel
Wicked: For Good’s odd slipper omission explained
- Wicked: For Good, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, is a sequel adapting the second act of the hit Broadway musical.
- The film is on track to break box office records, becoming the biggest debut ever for a Broadway adaptation, having already earned $228 million globally.
- Dorothy's iconic slippers are depicted as silver in the film, a deliberate choice by costume designer Paul Tazewell.
- This decision honours L. Frank Baum's original 1900 novel, where the slippers were described as 'odd little silver boots', unlike the 1939 film's ruby red ones.
- The use of silver slippers also avoids copyright issues, as MGM (now Warner Bros.) holds the rights to the ruby red design, while Wicked is distributed by Universal Pictures.