Why Cynthia Erivo's New Song From Wicked: For Good Cut A Key Oz Location Explained By Film's Composer

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Wicked's Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba looking upward as her hands perform magic

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Wicked: For Good brought the story of the witches of Oz to its thrilling end, releasing just a year after its blockbuster predecessor Wicked. Both films, adapted from the Wicked stage musical, star Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, with a supporting cast rounded out by Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Jeff Goldblum.

For Good picks up some time after the conclusion of the first movie, which saw Elphaba discovering the Wizard (Goldblum) is a fraud who is discriminating against the Animals of Oz and removing their ability to speak. While Elphaba vows to take down the Wizard, Glinda becomes a figurehead in his regime. To further characterize their motives, each of the witches was given a song wholly original to the movie.

Elphaba's song, "No Place Like Home," was conceptualized by composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz as a glimpse into why she is fighting for the Animals. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Schwartz explained how it came to be, crediting the original concept to writer Winnie Holtzman. The Oscar-winner explained: "In looking for a place to explore that, Winnie came up with the idea that animals would be trying to escape, and that Elphaba would come upon them and try to persuade them not to."

The composer also revealed that the scene went through several iterations, and its placement within the story of the film was in flux late into the writing process. "There was more of the song written, as frequently happens, than wound up in the movie," Schwartz explained. "There was a whole intro that [Elphaba] did by herself, which is now one spoken line of dialogue in her cave."

More surprisingly, Schwartz stated that "No Place Like Home" once had a more literal take on its title, one that would see Elphaba return to Munckinland. "There was a whole thing afterward when she arrived back at her childhood home and responded to it," he explained, noting that they ultimately cut the sequence to zero in on the heart of the song: Elphaba trying to help the Animals.

According to Schwartz, the powers behind the film "felt it was really important, given the sacrifice Elphaba makes at the end of the movie, that we understand how much she loved Oz, despite the fact that it doesn't show a lot of love to her." Schwartz' goal was to show "how painful it would be for her to even contemplate leaving Oz."

For her part, Erivo, who collaborated with Schwartz on "No Place Like Home," felt the song was "a discovery as to why she can continue." Additionally, the performer noted that the title being an homage to The Wizard of Oz was intentional, stating: "if the words ‘no place like home’ are in her mouth, they have to mean something; it has to be really special."

"She has to question why she wants to continue to save Oz, or save the animals in it, even though this place doesn’t necessarily want her," Erivo concluded. Notably, "No Place Like Home" received a pending nomination for Best Original Song at the Golden Globe Awards and is expected to be a contender at the Academy Awards as well, but no formal nomination for the latter has been received at this time.

Wicked: For Good is now available to rent or buy digitally, and it will eventually be available to stream on Peacock, though its release date on the platform has not been announced.