Musical theatre fans can finally have something solid to look forward to with the long-awaited Wicked movie from Universal, as director Jon M. Chu announced who would be playing the two leads. There's been speculation for years as to who would get these coveted roles, and the announcement of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo does not disappoint.
Chu took to social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter to share the news on the evening of November 4th. He confirmed that the role of Glinda will be played by pop superstar Grande, and the role of Elphaba will be played by Erivo. Prior to Universal's big-screen adaptation, these roles were originated on Broadway by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel.
Wicked is a record-breaking musical based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It tells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch, focusing on their unlikely friendship and how they individually stepped into their titles. Wicked first premiered on Broadway in 2003 and is one of the top five longest-running Broadway shows. It is currently the second highest-grossing musical of all time, behind only Disney's The Lion King. Production on the Wicked film is expected to begin in summer 2022 in the U.K.
Because Wicked has been a long favorite of many musical theatre fans around the world, a real movie adaptation has been highly anticipated. This film has been in the works since 2004, just one year after the musical's Broadway debut. The adaptation will be produced and distributed by Universal. Director Chu is most well known for his hit movie Crazy Rich Asians and his other highly successful musical adaptation In The Heights, which was released just this past summer.
Fan response to the casting announcement has been largely positive. While Erivo wasn't part of the speculative conversations too much, she's more than qualified after starring in multiple West End and Broadway shows as well as being nominated for an Oscar for her work in Harriet. Grande has been long suspected as a potential Glinda and has even Tweeted about how it would be her dream musical theatre role.
There have been a "more than usual" amount of musical adaptations released this year, from the aforementioned In The Heights to Dear Evan Hansen, and the upcoming West Side Story. With Wicked now surely on the way it begs the question, are audiences getting excited about musicals? Fans of the genre should be excited, as this can open the door for many more musical adaptations in the future.
Wicked is currently in development at Universal.
Source: Instagram | Jon M. Chu