Who Plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good? Inside Bethany Weaver’s Secret Casting

Fans asking who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good finally have an answer. British performer Bethany Weaver is credited as Dorothy Gale in the new sequel, even though viewers never see the character’s face. The mystery casting was only confirmed once Wicked: For Good premiered in theaters on November 21, 2025.

The decision to keep Dorothy faceless and her actress anonymous was a deliberate creative choice by director Jon M. Chu. He has emphasized that the story remains focused on Elphaba and Glinda, while Dorothy moves through the plot almost like a legend made real. Now, with the credits rolled and the secrecy lifted, audiences are eager to know more about Bethany Weaver and how she ended up in Oz.

Who Plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good? Meet Bethany Weaver

The question “who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good” led to months of speculation among fans. Some expected a big-name star. Others were sure Universal would cast a familiar face from Broadway or film. Instead, the answer is a rising U.K.-based performer: Bethany Weaver, a dancer, actress and choreographer with strong West End and international stage credentials.

Weaver is based in Surrey in South East England and has built her career largely on stage. Biographical notes and industry profiles list her work in London theatre and regional productions, where she has performed as a dancer and actor and taken on choreography duties. She has also trained extensively at top British performing arts schools, including The Urdang Academy, the Guildford School of Acting and Laine Theatre Arts, institutions known for feeding talent into the West End and touring productions.

On social media, Weaver has described herself as a dancer, actress and Pilates instructor, often posting from studios and stages. In 2018, she marked her graduation from Urdang and hinted at the “very exciting future” she hoped to build. In a later post from 2022, she shared a clip of herself singing “The Wizard and I” from Wicked and wrote that she was “aggressively manifesting” the dream of being in the musical. That clip now reads like a preview of her journey to Oz.

For Weaver, Wicked: For Good appears to be a breakthrough screen credit. Industry databases and cast lists currently connect her most prominently to the film as Dorothy, along with previous work on short-form or charity projects. While her time on screen is brief, her role carries huge symbolic weight, since Dorothy is the bridge between the world of Wicked and the classic story of The Wizard of Oz.

Press reports and early screenings suggest Weaver appears for a very short amount of total screen time, often less than two minutes, with no spoken lines. She is filmed from behind, at a distance, or with framing that hides most of her face as she moves through key moments like arriving in Munchkinland or traveling with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion. Even so, the casting reveal has turned her into one of the most talked-about names around the movie.

Why Wicked: For Good Hides Dorothy’s Face

Answering who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good also means explaining why audiences never clearly see her. Director Jon M. Chu has said in multiple interviews that he did not want to overwrite the Dorothy that lives in each viewer’s imagination. Judy Garland’s performance in the 1939 film is iconic, and Wicked as a franchise has always treated Dorothy carefully, especially in its stage form.

In the Broadway musical, Dorothy appears only briefly and mostly in silhouette, arriving late in the story as part of Elphaba’s supposed downfall. Wicked: For Good keeps that tradition. Dorothy’s arrival and movements are present, but her face is kept out of frame. This way, Chu argues, the movie honors the original musical and the cultural memory of Dorothy, while keeping the focus firmly on Elphaba and Glinda’s emotional arc.

Cast members have supported that choice. Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, has said that letting Dorothy remain visually undefined allows each viewer to “keep the Dorothy that they know.” Ariana Grande’s Glinda, meanwhile, interacts with Dorothy in a way that underlines Glinda’s own growth and complicated feelings, but the camera still resists turning Dorothy into a full new screen icon.

The studio also leaned into the secrecy. Universal did not announce Dorothy’s casting in advance, and Bethany Weaver was not part of the core press tour, even as other actors who play Oz favorites like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion appeared at premieres and interviews. Fans only got confirmation when they spotted Weaver’s name listed as Dorothy in the end credits and in updated cast breakdowns.

From a storytelling perspective, keeping Dorothy faceless underscores a central point of Wicked: this saga belongs to Elphaba and Glinda. Dorothy’s tornado, journey down the Yellow Brick Road and showdown with the Witch still happen, but we see them only as they intersect with the lives we have followed since the first film. Bethany Weaver’s performance anchors that presence while still preserving the mythic aura around Dorothy Gale.

What Bethany Weaver’s Casting Means for Wicked and Oz Fans

For long-time fans, the reveal of who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good adds a new chapter to the Oz legacy. Instead of a huge star being inserted into the role, the filmmakers chose a trained stage performer whose background mirrors Wicked’s theater roots. That choice signals respect for the stage community that made Wicked a phenomenon in the first place.

Weaver’s résumé in dance and choreography also suits the heavily staged, musical nature of the film. Dorothy’s movements in Wicked: For Good are often about silhouette, posture and physical storytelling rather than dialogue. A performer with dance training can convey emotion and narrative through simple gestures, from the way she stands in Munchkinland to the way she moves with Toto and the other travelers.

Her casting also hints at opportunity. With Wicked split into two films and Oz stories constantly being revisited in popular culture, having a young, well-trained performer step into Dorothy’s ruby slippers leaves the door open for possible future appearances, whether on stage, in spin-offs, or in related projects. For now, though, Weaver’s Dorothy is intentionally more symbol than fully fleshed character.

For the industry, the secret casting has been a reminder of how much conversation can build around a carefully guarded role. Universal managed to keep Dorothy’s actress out of headlines until opening day, even in an era of leaks and social media. That strategy has driven curiosity, think pieces and fan debates about facelessness, nostalgia and who “owns” beloved characters from classic cinema.

In the end, the answer to who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good is simple: Bethany Weaver, a U.K.-based dancer and actress who quite literally manifested her way into Oz. The decision to hide Dorothy’s face and her casting in plain sight keeps the character a shared cultural memory, while still giving a real performer the chance to step into one of cinema’s most famous pairs of shoes.

FYI (keeping you in the loop)-

Q1: Who plays Dorothy in Wicked: For Good?

Dorothy Gale in Wicked: For Good is played by British performer Bethany Weaver. She is credited in the film’s end titles even though her face is never fully shown on screen.

Q2: Why don’t we see Dorothy’s face in Wicked: For Good?

Director Jon M. Chu chose not to show Dorothy’s face to preserve each viewer’s personal idea of the character. The movie follows the stage musical’s tradition and keeps the story centered on Elphaba and Glinda.

Q3: Does Dorothy speak or sing in Wicked: For Good?

In Wicked: For Good, Dorothy does not have spoken dialogue. Her presence is felt through key scenes and movement, but the film avoids close-ups and focuses instead on the main witches’ story.

Q4: How long is Bethany Weaver on screen as Dorothy?

Reports from early screenings suggest that Dorothy appears only briefly, often for just over a minute in total. Those scenes are visually important but deliberately restrained.

Q5: Is Dorothy important to the plot of Wicked: For Good?

Dorothy is important as a catalyst who connects Wicked to The Wizard of Oz timeline. However, the emotional core of the film remains the journey and choices of Elphaba and Glinda.