Really? You'd rather see them go into how It's only natural enemy is an ancient cosmic turtle that vomited our universe into existence? If you'd really rather suffer through that being brought to the small screen, cheers. But even Stephen King himself has itted he all but loses his mind 3/4 of the way through his own books. Some concepts are simply best left to his books....and the Dark Tower series

(Continued)...But if the creative minds should give into the temptation to preserve the musical's ending in the interest of making another boatload of cash, I suggest a Marvel-esque post credits scene:

Glinda and Elphaba come across each other years later as the two wake up next to each other only to find they're both disembodied heads in a hallway lined with glass cabinets that contain many other beautiful female heads as well. The two look at each other, face forward at the camera, and scream. The end.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS. I have to be honest, I was so happy to see this story's headline. I thought "Well, finally somebody speaks some sense about the end of this show!" That quickly faded when I realized the author wasn't suggesting the film concludes with the Wicked Witch's death as it has played out in every other iteration of L. Frank Baum's classic story for decades.

The greatest flaw inWicked is the absurd ending that takes far too much artistic license. After all the injustices that plagued this green-skinned woman since the moment she was born, they decided that by showing she faked her death and riding off into the sunset with her true love stuffed with straw by her own poor judgement, this would constitute a "happier" ending?

After everything we see in what will ultimately be between 5 and 6 hours long when we finally reach the credits, Wicked doesn't need - and shouldn't have - a happy ending. This plot completely turns the original story on its head by showing us that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not merely the sideshow humbug we know him to be when Toto pulls the curtain aside, but that he was wielding his power like a corrupt politician to oppress talking animals. The book was infinitely darker than this, even. So why should such a bleak plot warrant a warm, fuzzy ending? If we're going to suspend everything we know from Baum's story for an increasingly dark political plot, it seems ridiculous that the characters involved - most of whom are either dead or seriously maligned by the end as it is - aren't left to ponder the consequences.

The Wicked Witch melts. The Scarecrow is left to rule over Oz in the Wizard's absence. Dorothy realizes she had the power to go back to Kansas the entire time....and Glinda looks like an a** for having put that little girl through such a traumatic experience just to teach her a lesson. The end. Click, dialtone. Goodbye.

I would ask them to consult Gus Van Sant before getting too far into a project they may regret. And how exactly would the plot to Vertigo translate? The plot's very much of it's time.

I very much agree, though if you come away with the same general opinion as those you see here, please feel free to stop back so everyone has the opportunity to say "I told you so."

With all due respect, basing this theory on the castle floor seems a bit premature. I confess I'm not a fan of their decision to alter the most basic and consistent of plot points in the interest of having a happy ending for Broadway. That Elphaba dies at the hands of a young girl is the last indignity in a life filled with tragedy. Every incarnation of the story has ended that way, even the novel Wicked is loosely based on.

The question I'd expected this would address is the identity of the cloaked figure riding the horse as the Winged Monkeys abandon the witch's castle.

It's also worthwhile to point out that Chu has dropped several hints that suggest the near-flawless adaptation of the first film won't hold over into the second. There's a lot more work to be done to bring Act II of the musical to the screen as it shifts times and locations more frequently. This is a point that a member of production recently echoed in a YouTube comment thread. That conversation confirmed that the production filmed alternate scenarios for specific sequences, most notably how Marissa Bode's Nessarose will be affected by the charm placed on the jeweled shoes that gives her the ability to walk, a scene that could be very controversial if interpreted as insensitive to Bode's very real disability.