Everything We Know About The Wicked Musical Film
If you saw Wonka recently and are waiting for your next musical movie fix, then prepare to travel to Oz: the first trailer for the hotly anticipated Wicked adaptation has finally been released, with Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum all in the cast.
Like the hit musical, it’ll tell the story of the green-skinned woman Elphaba (Erivo) and how she would eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West. Meanwhile, she’ll develop her friendship and rivalry with Galinda (Grande.) The film is such a big project that it’s being split into two parts, with the second coming out next year, and ahead of Part One in November, here’s everything we know:
What is the Wicked film about?
The Wicked movie adaptation has been in development for years and is now within our sights. If you’re unfamiliar with the musical phenomenon, the plot takes place before (and after) the original Wicked of Oz story. The focus here isn’t on Dorothy and Toto, but on the Wicked Witch of the West, before she was, well, wicked.
Cynthia Erivo, known for her roles onstage in The Colour Purple and for playing Harriet Tubman in Harriet, takes on the role of Elphaba, a young woman who’s always felt shunned and self-conscious due to her green skin, and has few friends. The only person who truly gets to know her is Galinda, later Glinda the Good, but their life choices and outlook on the magical world of Oz cause a rift between them and they soon drift off into a hateful rivalry.
What else do we know?
Of course, if you’re a fan of the monster hit stage show, what you’ll be most excited about is the songs, with Grande and Erivo belting out tunes like What Is This Feeling? and One Short Day– though bombastic showstopper Defying Gravity is being saved for Part Two. A few new songs are confirmed to have been written for the two films.
Additionally in the cast of singing and dancing characters will be Michelle Yeoh, who won an Oscar last year for Everything Everywhere All at Once and plays the headmistress of Shiz University, Madame Morrible. Bridgerton and Fellow Travelers star Jonathan Bailey is also in the mix as Fiyero Tigelaar, while Ethan Slater (Spongebob the Musical) plays Boq the Munchkin.
Meanwhile, the whimsical, wonderful Wizard of Oz is being played by whimsical, wonderful Jeff Goldblum. While Wicked isn’t about Dorothy, she will be appearing, and the trailer gives a brief glimpse of the girl from Kansas alongside Toto, the Lion, the Tin-Man and the Scarecrow.
When does it release and is there a trailer?
You can watch the trailer below, which begins with narration from Goldblum’s Oz, saying that “The best way to bring folks together, is to give them a real good enemy.” There are plenty of looks at the vistas of the world of Oz, winged monkeys, and Erivo, Grande, and Yeoh in character. It certainly looks like a stunning musical extravaganza, and you’ll be able to see it for yourself when it arrives on 27th November.