Wicked star Marissa Bode shares theory that these characters are LGBTQ+

Wicked star Marissa Bode has doubled down on her – frankly, correct – stance that pretty much all the major characters in the The Wizard of Oz prequel are LGBTQ+.

In an interview with Into earlier this week, Bode, who plays Elphaba’s sister Nessarose in Jon M Chu’s epic Wicked adaptation, said that “everybody in the cast, character-wise, is queer”.

“The straights are gonna get mad at me for saying this… but canonically, for me, everybody in the cast, character-wise, is queer in my brain. Like, Elphaba and Galinda were a little too suspicious for me personally. In my brain, there is fruitiness happening there. That’s my personal opinion,” she said.

In a new TikTok video, Bode has delved a little deeper into her Wicked queer theory, and outlined exactly where she thinks each character sits on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.

“Me and my brain canonically: Glinda is a lesbian, Elphaba is bisexual, Nessarose is bisexual, Fiyero is bisexual, Boq is questioning but queer in some way, Doctor Dillamond? GAY,” she declared.

“Madame Morrible is a lesbian who was deeply in love once but something happened to her love which is now why she is the way that she is,” she added of the villainous Dean of Sorcery Studies at Shiz University, played by Michelle Yeoh in the film.

“The Wizard is also questioning, but queer in some way. Those are my thoughts… And I’m joking,” she shared. “But also – no I’m not.”

Chu’s Wicked famously has an exceptionally large cast of LGBTQ+ talent, with Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, Jonathan Bailey, who is Fiyero, and Marissa Bode herself all being publicly queer.

@marissa_edob

#marissasthoughtoftheday #happypride also these are based solely on the film but let’s be real there’s blatant queerness in the book as well. This better stay on silly goofy queer TikTok and not elsewhere (threatening)

♬ original sound – Marissa

Both Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James, who play Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) friends Pfannee and ShenShen, also identify as queer. The voice cast also includes lesbian Mr Loverman star Sharon D. Clarke as Dulcibear.

Queer Wicked lovers have long seen the leads, Glinda and Elphaba, as more than just friends, while Gregory Maguire, who wrote the original Wicked novel in 1995, confirmed last year that the queer subtext between the two female protagonists was intentional.

The big gay energy that consumes the Wicked world harks all the way back to its The Wizard of Oz origins, with many believing Frank Baum’s original novels were packed with queer undertones. The 1939 film adaptation saw Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, become an LGBTQ+ icon, while Billie Burke, who played Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, reportedly had a lesbian affair with director Dorothy Arzner.

Part two of Chu’s Wicked, dubbed Wicked: For Good, will be released on 21 November 2025. The first spell-binding trailer was released on 5 June.

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