‘Wicked’ series gets new exciting update

Wicked author Gregory Maguire is writing a new book in the series based on Glinda, according to Harper Collins.

A statement on the publisher’s website says that Galinda: A Charmed Childhood will focus on the “pink-clad, effervescent” Galinda Upland, who later becomes Glinda the Good.

It is a sister volume to Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, which was released earlier this year.

Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the first-ever in the series, is focused on Elphaba Thropp, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

The book offers a sympathetic take on Elphaba, first introduced in the 1900 L Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a villainous character, and explores the nature of evil itself.

According to the synopsis of the new book, Galinda grows up as the youngest of four children in a once-noble but “down on their luck” family where she’s “both pampered and ignored.”

The book, set for release in September 2026, will follow her childhood, revolving around social and economic tensions before she heads to the Shiz University and becomes Elphaba’s best friend.

She adopts the spelling “Glinda” in Wicked in a show of solidarity with her professor, Dr Dillamond, who repeatedly mispronounces her name.

The announcement of the prequel comes soon after the release of the film adaptation of the Wicked saga, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda.