Wicked Movie Stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Share BTS Photos of Rehearsals
After nearly two decades of being in development, a Wicked movie is finally on its way to becoming a reality. The blockbuster Broadway musical, which reimagines the origin stories of the witches of The Wizard of Oz, has become a cultural sensation, and there's definitely been a lot of hype regarding the saga's jump to the big screen. Almost a year ago, it was announced that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been cast in the lead roles of Galinda and Elphaba, and while we'll have to wait until 2024 to see their dynamic on the big screen, a new behind-the-scenes photo provides an adorable early look.
This week, Grande took to Instagram to share a series of photos of early preparation on Wicked, including several photos of herself, Erivo, and other dancers on the project.
What is Wicked about?
Wicked is a prequel to the iconic events of The Wizard of Oz, and tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (whose name later changes to Glinda the Good Witch), who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace.
The musical, which first debuted on Broadway in 2003, has become a beloved part of musical theater, ultimately grossing over $1 billion in total Broadway revenue in 2016. The original production of Wicked featured Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, both of whom had been among the wishlist fans have had for the movie adaptation.
When will the Wicked movie premiere?
Wicked will be split into a two-part movie saga, the first of which will arrive on December 25, 2024, and the second of which will arrive on December 25, 2025. The film will be directed by Jon M. Chu, and will also star Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.
"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 when the decision to split it into two films was announced. "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."
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