Wicked: For Good

Project Overview

Across over 320 shots and nine sequences, Outpost VFX was asked to tackle a larger award in the second part of Jon M. Chu’s exciting musical adaptation than the first time out, covering a variety of creative challenges from full-frame CG digi doubles to lurid environment extensions.

Working alongside Overall VFX Supervisor Pablo Helman, the film was supervised internally initially by Jason Evans and then Associate VFX Supervisor Shane Rabey.

“We completed 324 shots over nine sequences,” begins Rabey. “A large part of our work was environments and set extensions but also included some very intricate digi-double work. Digital makeup treatments were also involved in almost every shot.”

Due to the film only utilising a very small handful of VFX vendors, regular in-person reviews with Director Jon M. Chu became a reality for Rabey and the team.

“We first met Jon when he was in London for sound and scoring,” Rabey says. “We were very lucky to have all our reviews done in person with him during that time and then that continued online when he returned to LA. Pablo Helman was always part of these reviews and helped guide us through them.

“Working with Jon was a pleasure. He is very experienced with VFX and so was able to clearly communicate what he wanted and understood what he was asking for when he did.”

The most technically demanding sequence was when Elphaba levitates her sister, Nessarose, requiring precise CG and comp work while remaining sensitive to the actor’s performance.

“This sequence is an almost full digi-double takeover, with everything below her neck being replaced,” Rabey explains. “The takeover cuts directly with plate photography of Nessarose so the audience knows exactly what she should look like and that meant we had to be very thorough in matching the look of her clothing.

“The original plate photography had actor Marissa Bode suspended with a wire rig. This created an interesting challenge when animating the digi-double as we had to honour the movements but also give a freer moving performance than a wire harness would allow.

“The story point has Elphaba cast a spell that gives Nessarose movement in her legs which is something our animators were tasked with. Our CFX artists did a lovely job on the cloth simulation of the dress to give it a very realistic movement and gentle float to the lower dress.”

Additionally, Shane and the team took on a host of shots in the Wizard’s chambers, featuring moving cogs, a large bouncing globe and more.

“The cogs started as an asset provided by Framestore from the first film. Our team was tasked with extensive look development so that the asset would hold up very close to camera,” says Rabey.

“It contained hundreds of moving cogs and gears that made up the inner workings of the Wizard’s mechanical head. A variety of custom animation cycles were created and used based on particular story points.

“The compositing of this into the shots was also quite involved as it was replacing a practical set and there were many visible lights that created complex flaring across the images. We worked to achieve a perfect match of all the optical complexities that could be seen in the plates.”

Alongside these key sequences, Outpost also tackled environment extensions during a musical sequence where Elphaba and Glinda travel through a shimmering pink and green environment.

“The Nessarose levitation sequence was certainly the biggest technical challenge, but creatively this sequence was also a challenge. When we received the initial brief, it wasn’t known what the sequence should look like.

“We worked with Pablo and Jon to iterate on several ideas for the environment and ultimately Jon wanted to show the beauty of the moment through simplicity and perfect timing of the twinkling lights with the musical beats. That sequence ended up as one of the most used in the trailers and I think one of the most memorable in the film.”

Taking on a larger award and more complex work for the sequel was a welcome challenge for the Outpost team, who worked as a main support vendor for the two leads.

“Wicked: For Good was a career highlight for me,” concludes Rabey. “I was very lucky to have such a dedicated and hard-working team to help deliver the work. It was also the first project I’ve worked on to have a Director so involved in the VFX process. It felt like our clients were in lockstep with us the entire time.

“The client production team of Kevin, Serge and Cameron were a real pleasure to work with as it often felt like we were all one big team and were treated equally alongside ILM and Framestore.

“I’m very proud of the work and I think it’s a fantastic showcase of exactly what Outpost can do.”

Wicked: For Good launched in theatres 21 November 2025. All images © Universal Pictures.