Universal Studios is making a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked and fans now know who is part of the cast after several announcements Thursday evening. This big-screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical will feature the same characters we know and love. It was announced via Instagram that Grammy award winning singer Ariana Grande and Tony awarding winning actress Cynthia Erivo landed the starring roles in the new film. Erivo is set to portray the wicked witch of the West Elphaba, while Grande will play good witch Glinda, in their days at school. You already know this star studded duo are coming with the vocals that will blow the roof off.
The pair took to their Instagram pages to share the news. Erivo posted a carousel of photos, including one where she appears to be overjoyed with the caption “Pink goes good with Green 💚💚💚@wickedmovie @jonmchu @arianagrande”.
Grande also posted a series of photos including screenshots of her Zoom calls with Cynthia with the caption, “thank goodness 💘 @jonmchu @cynthiaerivo @wickedmovie”. In both posts, you can tell the ladies were struck with an overwhelming amount of emotions after receiving the news themselves.
Wicked has recently resumed its live performances on Broadway after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 virus. The movie, which is set to start production Summer of 2022, will make a great addition to the saga. The film will be directed by Jon M. Chu and produced by Marc Platt, who also produced the Broadway musical. Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book for the Broadway musical, and Stephen Schwartz, who composed the songs, are also working on the screenplay together according to ELLE. The feature film is still in the developing stages for now which means the rest of the cast is unknown. However it can be guaranteed that whoever this mystery cast is will properly tell the story of the prequel to The Wizard of Oz and everything that lead up to Dorothy’s arrival.
As a little preview, click HERE enjoy this iconic performance of the musical’s song ‘The Wizard and I’ as performed by Grande in 2018.
