"They didnt even bother to flip them" - Internet reacts to "Wicked: For Good" poster seemingly using the same monkey graphic six times 

Jon M. Chu's Wicked: For Good's first looks and posters have started circulating online, ahead of its November 21, 2025, release. On August 6, 2025, the movie's official X account released a poster announcing "Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba."

However, instead of the main focus of the poster being the actress, the reported duplication of similar-looking flying monkey graphics in the background caught the netizens' eye.

Cynthia Erivo's character poster (Image via X/ @wickedmovie)

Internet users quickly took to X to comment on the American musical fantasy's poster featuring Cynthia Erivo, wherein an X user addressed the similar stance of the monkeys in the background, tweeting:

"they didnt even bother to flip them"

Ѵ.mp223 🩸🌊

@dirtyyicecream

they didnt even bother to flip them 😭

Many netizens shared similar criticisms on the social media platform.

"they could've at least used a different monkey for the other big one," an X user commented.

"I like how they just flipped one and called it a day," another X user mentioned.

"Literally a billion dollar movie and they can’t spent an extra couple hundred to hire a good designer," another internet user said.

On the other hand, fans of the film and Cynthia Erivo complimented the poster and also called out people for making a big deal out of the graphics.

"one thing about yall is yall gonna complain about everything," an X user tweeted.

"SHE LOOKS INCREDIBLE," a netizen remarked, referring to Cynthia Erivo.

"that’s best actress right there," another netizen expressed.

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What did Cynthia Erivo say about Wicked's fan-made poster? Controversy explored in the wake of movie's second installment poster receiving backlash

While Wicked: For Good’s poster starring Cynthia Erivo has drawn criticism for featuring similar-looking monkeys, this isn’t the first time the movie’s posters have sparked controversy.

Ahead of the Jon M. Chu musical's release in November 2024, a fan-made poster went viral on the internet in October 2024. It featured Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, whispering into Cynthia Erivo's character Elphaba's ear. The fan-made poster resembled the original Broadway musical's poster, on which the movie was based.

However, the poster was altered so that Erivo's face was covered by her hat and Ariana's face was only partly visible. Expressing her discontent over the same, the actress took to her Instagram Story and wrote:

"This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI of us fighting … None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us. The original poster is an ILLUSTRATION."

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo with the Wicked cast (Image via Instagram/ @wickedmovie)

She added:

"I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer …because, without words we communicate with our eyes. Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful."

The movie's director, Jon M. Chu, seconded Cynthia's opinion by re-sharing her IG story and dubbing her a "superhero."

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Wicked: For Good is the second installment of 2024's musical Wicked. The second part of the franchise features A-listers from the original cast like Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, and Marissa Bode, among others.