‘Wicked’ Fans Relieved That Colman Domingo Was Cast as ‘For Good’s Cowardly Lion—and Not James Corden: “WE ARE OFFICIALLY FREE FROM JAMES CORDEN”

Published Oct. 20, 2025, 2:36 p.m. ET

Before Wicked: For Good flies into theaters, fans were let in on the famous voice behind The Cowardly Lion in the upcoming Wicked sequel.

Colman Domingo was announced as For Good‘s latest cast addition in a video posted on Wicked‘s social media pages on Monday, in which the Euphoria actor pulls is initially hiding behind a lion Squishmallow.

“See you in Oz,” he says with a wink after revealing himself.

While speaking with Deadline, Wicked director Jon M. Chu had previously teased that the Cowardly Lion would be played by a secret celebrity, telling the outlet that he had sent them a DM on Instagram asking if they would be interested.

“I was like, ‘It’s not a ton of lines, but maybe you have a little time. I know you’re busy. I’ll come to you.’ He was like, ‘Why the fuck not, let’s go!’ And then we went ahead and recorded the lines,” he shared. “Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild,” he said.

While some fans were under the impression that they would have to wait until the movie hits theaters to find out who is voicing the Cowardly Lion, they also flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts, as one lauded Domingo’s casting as “inspired” and “genuinely incredible.”

Prior to Monday’s announcement, fans began placing their bets on which star would rise (or roar) to the occasion, with James Corden being one of the more frequent names in peoples’ predictions. Some fans were not shy about sharing their excitement that Corden was not cast as the Cowardly Lion, as noted by NBC News.

“WE ARE OFFICIALLY FREE FROM JAMES CORDEN,” one fan wrote on X, while another added, “AND NO JAMES CORDEN! WE CAN ALL REST.”

“And the world breathes a sigh of relief as James Corden is nowhere to be found,” another opined.

Corden can currently be seen starring in Art on Broadway alongside Neil Patrick Harris and Bobby Cannavale, and last month Deadline reported that he and his fellow Gavin & Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones are behind a new Apple TV series titled The Choir. Meanwhile Domingo, who will be returning for Euphoria Season 3, most recently starred in Dead Man’s Wire, which premiered at this year’s Venice International Film Festival.

Wicked: For Good premieres on on Nov. 21. Wicked: Part 1 is streaming on Peacock.