SM.Marissa Bode Is “So Happy” With ‘Wicked: For Good’s Change To Nessa’s “Outdated” Arc
As the concluding chapter of Wicked‘s big-screen adaptation approaches, Marissa Bode is opening up about how the movie does away with an ableist plot point.
The actress and wheelchair user, who returns as Nessa in Wicked: For Good when it premieres Nov. 21 in theaters, recently explained that the character’s “ultimate true desire is love,” unlike in the Broadway musical, where her desire was to be able to walk.
“I am so happy with the change, the old narrative was outdated,” Bode told Go Magazine, after the Broadway show’s book writer and movie’s co-screenwriter Winnie Holzman consulted with a disabled friend and altered the story.
Whereas the stage musical had Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo in the movie) enchant her sister’s shoes so she’d be able to walk, which has been interpreted by many people as ableist, the final trailer for Jon M. Chu‘s upcoming sequel shows that the enchantment instead gives Nessa the ability to fly.
“And I’ll be honest, it was really fun to fly through the air on set,” said Bode. “Overall, the shift makes a lot of sense to me, considering ‘everyone deserves a chance to fly.’
Bode explained that Nessa’s new arc emphasizes how frustrating it is for disabled people to be “fussed over” when they don’t need help, no matter how well-intentioned.
“Sometimes, disabled people do need help. All disabled people are different, so levels of mobility are different,” said Bode. “Asking for help is okay, while at the same time, letting non-disabled people know that they shouldn’t always assume.”
In the movie musical, Elphaba’s younger sister Nessarose is a paraplegic, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the East, ruler of Munchkinland.
