Wicked Movie in Final Talks To Cast Jeff Goldblum

The Wicked movie is finally on its way, and the cast is shaping up to be an exciting one. Last year, it was officially announced that Ariana Grande would be taking on the role of Glinda and Cynthia Erivo would be playing Elphaba with In the Heights director Jon M. Chu set to direct. Last month, it was reported that Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey was in talks to play Fiyero, and it looks like the movie has now found its Wizard. According to Variety, Jeff Goldblum is in final talks to take on the villainous role that was originated by Joel Grey on Broadway. 

While Chu has yet to confirm the news, this spells good news for any fan of Goldblum, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday. The beloved actor is known for The Fly, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Thor: Ragnarok, and much more. While Goldblum doesn’t have a big history with musicals, he is a musician and released an album back in 2018. 

Why Is Wicked in Two Parts?

Earlier this year, Chu announced that the Wicked movie would be released in two parts. 

“Here’s what happened: As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of ‘Wicked’ into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” Chu wrote in a statement. “As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. 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.”

Wicked was based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and the show was composed by Stephen Schwartz with a book by Winnie Holzman. There are many iconic songs in the musical, but the most famous is probably the first act closer, “Defying Gravity.” During a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Erivo talked about tackling the famous song.

“I’ve been listening to it, and I’ve sung it. I kind of just go with it naturally,” Erivo explained while doing press for Disney’s Pinocchio. “There’s the temptation to push and to do too much with it. I don’t know that that’s what my method will be. I think my method will be to communicate the meaning of the song as much as I can.”

Are you excited Jeff Goldblum could be playing the Wizard in Wicked? Tell us in the comments! 

Wicked‘s first part is expected to be released in December 2024.