The story of Wicked has had film audiences wrapped up in pink and green goodness for well over a year at this point. Wicked: For Good brought the heartfelt story of Glinda and Elphaba to a rather satisfying conclusion. As we know, this story that reframes what we thought we knew about good and evil in the not-so-merry old land of Oz originates in Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Now, the author is releasing a prequel novel that will take fans back to the “Good” Witch’s childhood.
According to Deadline, Galinda: A Charmed Childhood will be released on September 29, 2026. The novel will be a sister story to Maguire’s New York Times-bestselling novel Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, which hit shelves in spring 2025. This new Galinda (or should we say Glinda) prequel novel will explore the person behind her bubbly personality.
Here’s the book’s synopsis for more context:
“The youngest of four children in a high-born family down on their luck, Galinda is both pampered and ignored. Her natural grace promises to elevate her in the district dance competitions—but these efforts distract her from seeing the growing resentments of local merchants who disapprove of her family’s business strategies. Enmired in the self-satisfactions and unnamed timidities of childhood, Galinda finds in herself neither canniness nor the need to cultivate it. However, as her father deftly pivots around the snares and nets laid for him by his competitors, Galinda begins to dance toward a life that might lift her above her proud, if hardscrabble, childhood.”
None of this is surprising, to be honest. The Wicked films starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are both massive blockbusters that introduced a whole new crowd of Oz-loving people to a different side of this magical land.
There won’t be a Wicked 3 because, well, there’s really no more story that needs to be told at this point. Wicked: For Good gave Elphaba and Glinda their proper endings. But, thanks to novels and probably a zillion fanfics, this world really never has to end.