We’re getting exciting news for Universal’s upcoming Wicked film adaption: that it will star none other than pop singer and actor Ariana Grande and actor Cynthia Erivo.
The news comes to us from Variety, who reports that Grande and Erivo will portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. It is an adaptation of the Tony award-winning musical of the same name. The film will be helmed by In The Heights director Jon M. Chu.
The project has long been delayed after previous reports from 2016 indicated a planned 2019 release date — then with different talent attached behind and in front of the lens.
And as we noted in a recent article, the Wicked musical holds the honor of being one of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time.
If you’re not familiar, the Steve Schwarz and Winnie Holzman musical — which premiered in 2003 at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway — serves as a prequel to the story of The Wizard of Oz, painting a sympathetic portrait of the supposedly “Wicked” Witch Elphaba.
Since its premiere, Wicked has continued to run to this day after more than 6,800 performances, though it took a hiatus due to the pandemic. It is the fifth longest-running Broadway musical the only show besides The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King to gross more than $1 billion on Broadway alone.
The stars announced their respective castings on each of their Instagram pages Thursday evening, which you can view below.
Are you excited about the Wicked movie adaptation? Tell us in the comments!
