Depraved: For Good is lastly right here, and with it an important piece of the 2026 Oscar Race falls into place. The primary movie was an enormous hit final yr and was a serious presence on the 2025 Academy Awards, choosing up 10 nominations, behind Emilia Pérez however sufficient to tie for second-most with The Brutalist. It was thought of a darkish horse for Greatest Image, however in the end took residence two statuettes for Greatest Costume Design and Greatest Manufacturing Design.
The Academy’s reluctance to award “half ones” was cited as working in opposition to Depraved, and Depraved: For Good‘s launch date has been cemented on this yr’s Oscars calendar since. If Jon M. Chu’s gamble to adapt the musical’s two acts individually paid off, all the great will from the earlier movie would come dashing as much as meet this one, and it may very well be a serious power. Its two stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, have been particularly considered sturdy contenders, contemplating how shut they’d already come to profitable the primary time round.
Although Depraved: For Good‘s opinions are optimistic, it is not as well-received as its predecessor, and the percentages of it being a juggernaut alongside One Battle After One other, Hamnet, and Sinners is wanting unlikely. However, the lead actors have nonetheless been the supply of reward, and Grande stays a prime prediction to win Greatest Supporting Actress.
That will, nevertheless, be a mistake by the Academy – twice over.
Glinda Is not A Supporting Character In Depraved: For Good
Within the wake of Depraved‘s success, when all we might do was speculate about how Half Two would strategy the remainder of the fabric, there was a variety of dialogue across the lead/supporting distinction for its two stars. One might at all times argue them as co-leads, after all, however Glinda positively leaned towards a supporting position in what was primarily Elphaba’s story – and a few floated the likelihood that this may very well be flipped in For Good.
Everybody appeared to overlook this come Oscars prediction season, and never solely did awards pundits hold Erivo and Grande in the identical classes as earlier than, however the narrative solidified round Grande as a possible frontrunner. For the time being, Hamnet‘s Jessie Buckley appears destined to run away with Greatest Actress, however Greatest Supporting is extra of an open contest. One Battle After One other‘s Teyana Taylor and Regina Corridor might break up one another’s focus, and Sentimental Worth might lose the steam that may’ve powered Elle Fanning’s marketing campaign to a win. Grande might fairly take this one residence.
However, having seen Depraved: For Good, that is most positively Glinda’s film. She will get the childhood flashbacks that Elphaba acquired in Depraved: Half One; she will get the majority of the expansion arc, with Elphaba not wavering a lot from her “Defying Gravity” epiphany. Erivo’s Depraved Witch is hardly absent, however the identical method the primary film leaned towards her character’s perspective, the second leans towards Glinda’s.
Common must be operating Ariana Grande in lead, and (if not additionally in lead) Cynthia Erivo in supporting. However now that Grande has a lot momentum in Greatest Supporting Actress, the marketing campaign would by no means swap her round this late. Unlucky in a yr when there are some actually deserving, true-supporting performances.
Ariana Grande Would Be Profitable For The Incorrect Depraved Film
If Grande wins, the class would not be the one error. The Academy would even be awarding her for the flawed movie.
Each halves of Depraved have been filmed collectively, so one might argue that each Glindas are one, single efficiency. However they’re additionally fairly totally different from one another. Depraved‘s Glinda is a primarily comedic efficiency with some dramatic beats, and For Good‘s Glinda is actually the reverse.
Ariana Grande popped as considerably as she did final yr as a result of she’s humorous. The popstar had proven flashes of comedic expertise beforehand, whether or not in appearing roles or spectacular SNL internet hosting appearances, nevertheless it had but to be given a big-screen platform as vital as Depraved. Followers of the musical embraced her as Glinda straight away, and Hollywood concurrently welcomed her with a lot fanfare.
However, the Academy wasn’t able to award her for what was primarily her breakout appearing position. Zoe Saldaña gained Greatest Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez, and as a wide range of controversies sapped the passion for that movie, it was lastly having a possibility to have a good time her after years of blockbuster success that powered her marketing campaign. In different phrases, the right narrative to counter Grande’s momentum.
Depraved: For Good offers the Academy one other likelihood, and it looks as if the passion for her hasn’t died down a lot. However awarding her for the darker, extra dramatic half of her efficiency would not actually make up for the missed alternative to honor what folks beloved most about her Glinda. If she wins, it might nonetheless really feel like she’s profitable for Depraved: Half One moderately than what she’s really doing in For Good, particularly given the brand new movie’s weaker reception on the whole.
Grande at the very least appears to be getting it proper – her subsequent position is in Focker In-Regulation, the brand new sequel to the Meet the Dad and mom films, and it’ll give her an opportunity to proceed flexing these comedic muscle tissue. However the Oscars have already missed their likelihood to do the correct factor, and attempting to make up for it with a Greatest Supporting win in 2026 would simply be making new errors.
- Launch Date
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November 21, 2025
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Director
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Jon M. Chu
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire
- Producers
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Marc Platt, David Stone