For Good’ Casts Colman Domingo as Cowardly Lion

Filmmaker Jon M. Chu recently teased that the fans would be excited when they found out who it was. “Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild,” he said.

The Cowardly Lion was a main character in the classic 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz.” In “Wicked,” he is the young cub Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) rescue after Dr. Dillamond has been taken away and a new professor brings a caged lion to class. The teacher explains how by being imprisoned, the cub will never learn to speak. As Elphaba gets angry, her powers create a moment for her and Fiyero to grab the cub and run into the forest to set it free.

“Wicked: For Good” sees the cub fully grown into the Cowardly Lion who blames Elphaba for his situation. With the sequel overlapping timelines with “The Wizard of Oz,” the lion is seen with Dorothy, The Tin Man and Scarecrow heading down the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He’s also seen during the musical number “March of the Witchhunters.” However, as in the Broadway musical, the character doesn’t have a large part.

“Wicked: For Good” will see the return of Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba Throp and Glinda Upland, respectively, as well as Bailey as Prince Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp, Ethan Slater as Boq Woodsman, Bowen Yang as Pfannee and Bronwyn James as ShenShen.

The sequel covers the events of the musical’s second act, following Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship being put to the test as they…