Ariana Grande is returning to her child-star roots to play Glinda the Good Witch in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked.”
The highly-anticipated film adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (later known as the Wicked Witch of the West) as she and Glinda (Grande) befriend one another in college only to later both fall for the same classmate Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) against the political turmoil in the land of Oz, run by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). The cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, Adam James, Keala Settle, Bronwyn James, Ethan Slater, and Colin Michael Carmichael.
“In the Heights” and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Chu helms the two-part musical, written by Tony nominee Winnie Holzman. “Wicked” will debut in two parts, with respective holiday releases in 2024 and 2025.
Chu made the announcement of the split in a 2022 Instagram post, writing, “We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one ‘Wicked’ movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of ‘Wicked’ as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”
Iconic song “Defying Gravity” will be the final number for the first film installment.
The story is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Grande told Vanity Fair that she was determined to be in the cast and tried for a decade to get the film made.
“It was literally 10 years of being like, ‘Knock, knock, any developments? Is there an audition coming this year, or next year? I would like to start preparing today,’” Grande said.
Director Chu even admitted that the two-hander could have not soared without the two leads.
“When two giant stars come together, you never know what kind of egos come flying out,” Chu said. Yet Grande and Erivo together proved to be musical magic.
Erivo said of co-star Grande, “I just need to say that I don’t think people realize that she’s got the chops. I don’t think people realize how brilliant this person’s brain and voice and talent is.”
“Wicked: Part One” premieres November 27 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
