Wicked is a prequel to the widely beloved fantasy classic The Wizard of Oz, but the musical features several characters who don’t appear in the original story. The narrative takes place several years before The Wizard of Oz, following Elphaba during her time at Shiz University, where she’s invited to the Emerald City for an audience with the infamous Wizard. Although it’s unclear exactly where the Wicked movies will split up the Broadway story, the first part will surely focus closely on Elphaba’s time at the university – and Fiyero is a key player in this segment of the narrative.
Fiyero is among several characters who are never mentioned by name in The Wizard of Oz, but he plays an enormous role in the story nevertheless. Like many of the characters in Wicked, Fiyero’s fate ties neatly into the original text and adds a whole new dimension to the narrative that’s only possible because of the play’s major twists. He’s one of several figures whose “true” identity isn’t revealed until the end of Wicked, as the two stories finally converge and his importance in this narrative becomes clear at last.
Why Fiyero Wasn’t In The Original The Wizard Of Oz
The Character Was Originally Created For The Prequel
At least under this name, Fiyero wasn’t present in The Wizard of Oz. Gregory Maguire invented the character for his novel upon which Wicked was based; he’s another student at Shiz University, where he soon becomes Elphaba’s love interest. The pair have a complex relationship that takes many forms throughout Wicked’s story, but it’s a completely new aspect of the narrative that wasn’t present in the original film. In The Wizard of Oz, Elphaba is a much more solitary and selfish character who’s never seen with a love interest, and Wicked sets out to explain why.
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While Maguire invented the majority of Wicked’s characters for his book, they all have clear connections to existing figures in The Wizard of Oz. The musical is a very strict prequel that neatly ties into the original film, carefully forging characters and relationships that still make sense in the original context. They aim to explain certain aspects of The Wizard of Oz without changing anything about the original story, offering a new perspective on events that audiences are already familiar with. Fiyero is an obvious example of this, serving to explain why Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch.
Fiyero’s Backstory In Wicked Explained
The Character Comes From An Important Family
During the first act of Wicked, Elphaba and Fiyero go through a whirlwind romance at Shiz University. The former is shunned by the majority of her peers thanks to her unconventional appearance and taboo family history, but Fiyero is among the only characters who see her for herself. He isn’t disturbed by Elphaba’s green skin like the rest of her classmates, and the pair quickly fall in love. He sticks by Elphaba’s side when she travels to the Emerald City and discovers the truth about the Wizard, staying among the only characters who don’t turn against her.
Fiyero comes from a family of incredibly high status, and this makes him extremely popular during his years at Shiz. He’s admired by both Elphaba and Glinda, but he’s always drawn towards the former because of her selflessness and lack of ego. This love triangle is the central drama of the play’s first act, and it perfectly sets up the sacrifice and suffering that follow towards the end.
As the play progresses, and every character begins turning against Elphaba and her revolutionary philosophies, Fiyero is the only character who remains loyal to her.
As the proverbial witch hunt commences and the Emerald City turns against Elphaba, Fiyero is appointed as the Wizard’s Captain of the Guard, a position that he gladly accepts in the hopes that it will bring him back to Elphaba. As the play progresses, and every character begins turning against Elphaba and her revolutionary philosophies, Fiyero is the only character who remains loyal to her. He even sacrifices himself for Elphaba towards the end of the film, allowing her to flee the Wizard’s guards and fake her own death at the hands of Dorothy Gale.
Fiyero Has One Of The Most Heartbreaking Stories In Gregory Maguire’s Wicked
His Loyalty To Elphaba Is Ultimately His Undoing
Fiyero’s unwavering loyalty to Elphaba is the emotional core of Wicked, and it makes his journey one of the most emotional to watch. The entire play centers around embracing yourself for who you are, treating others as you’d wish to be treated, and judging people not by their appearance but by their actions. Fiyero’s behavior is the pinnacle of this, and he ultimately suffers for it. Although Elphaba manages to save him from the Wizard’s guards after his sacrifice, he’s transformed into the scarecrow (from The Wizard of Oz) and forced to give up all his titles and respect.
Wicked’s timeline intersects with The Wizard of Oz in the second act, and Fiyero’s actions play a huge role in understanding the importance of the scarecrow in the original text. The musical reframes his actions as an attempt to get back to Elphaba and save her from the city that unfairly wants her dead, and he loses his brain in the process. He’s the one character who doesn’t deserve any of the suffering that’s inflicted upon them, but he arguably suffers the most – proving the play’s heartbreaking message about selflessness and social injustice.
The Wicked Musical Wildly Changes His Story (& The Movie Probably Will Too)
The Films Will Likely Adopt The Character’s Happier Ending
Surprisingly, Fiyero’s story is completely different in the Wicked musical in comparison to the original story upon which it’s based. As it was first written, Fiyero is actually executed by the Wizard for his loyalty to Elphaba – the entire scarecrow subplot was rewritten for the stage in order to make Fiyero’s journey less tragic. This is undoubtedly the biggest chance between the two versions, and while the stage play gives Fiyero a more suitable ending, there’s a certain tragedy to the original version that’s extremely fitting with the story’s main themes.
Given the glitz and glamor of the on-screen adaptation, it’s highly likely that the Wicked movies will adopt the stage play’s version of Fiyero’s story. It’s a much safer and more fulfilling ending to the character’s journey, and it fits neatly with The Wizard of Oz’s story. Going for the darker path would be an extremely bold choice for the movies, but admittedly, it would be a big swing that could definitely pay off.
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Director
- Jon M. Chu
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Marc Platt Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Writers
- Gregory Maguire , Winnie Holzman , Dana Fox , L. Frank Baum
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
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