Spoilers are ahead for Wicked: For Good.
Wicked: For Good wrapped up the story that kicked off last year in Wicked, and the 2025 movie release had a lot less whimsy than the first entry in the saga. Now, a deleted scene from For Good reveals some lightheartedness between the core characters that could have brightened up the story if it hadn’t ended up on the cutting room floor. Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater went shirtless as Fiyero and Boq, and the ladies in their lives seemed to appreciate it!
Before they were transformed into the Tin Man and Scarecrow, respectively, Boq and Fiyero shed their usual looks for a more fun reason: chopping wood while on an outing with Elphaba, Galinda, and Nessa. Take a look:
Much was made of Fiyero’s good looks throughout Wicked and parts of For Good, so seeing him strip his shirt to chop wood seemed perfectly in character (and reminded me of a certain wet shirt scene with Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton). Seeing Boq go topless was more of a surprise, but he had abs to show as well!
Galinda and Nessa both openly appreciated the shirtless states of their love interests in the clip, and it’s fun to see that it was all in good fun compared to a similar scene in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton between Josh Duhamel and Topher Grace. (If that’s too deep a cut for you, the 2004 movie is available streaming with an Amazon Prime subscription now.)
Of course, the axe can be taken as an Easter egg for Boq’s eventual transformation into the Tin Man, depending on whether the scene was originally scripted for earlier in the film than when Nessarose got her hands on the Grimmerie… and whether Boq’s last name being “Woodsman” wasn’t already a giveaway.
Portions of the sequence do seem to have made it into both Wicked and For Good, however. The background music sounds like an instrumental version of “Dancing Through Life,” and the movies included brief flashbacks to scenes with happier days for the friend group that weren’t actually in the finished cuts. I do wish this scene had made it into one of the two movies, since it would have helped set up the tragedy of how much they were fractured by the very end.
I’ve always wished that the first film included more time on the friendship between Galinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero in particular between “Dancing Through Life” and “Defying Gravity,” so this deleted scene from For Good is at least fun to see in hindsight. Besides, since the last we saw of Boq and Fiyero together in the saga was when they were already transformed into the Tin Man and Scarecrow, I don’t mind a flash back to happier days before they were both changed. Ethan Slater spoiled the Boq’s fate as the Tin Man ahead of the Wicked: For Good premiere.
You can finally watch Wicked: For Good from home on Tuesday, December 30 when the film releases on digital for rent or purchase. This is nearly a month before the DVD and Blu-ray releases on January 20, so be sure to check out the digital release if you want a fix of Galinda and Elphaba’s final adventure together ASAP.
The film has also been nominated for several awards at the 2026 Golden Globes, including both of the For Good original songs that weren’t adapted from the stage production, although reactions were mixed to them. Cynthia Erivo made history with her second nomination for Best Female Actor – Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy, and Ariana Grande is once again up for Best Supporting Female Actor.
