The first look at Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the new film adaptation of Wicked is finally here.
Director Jon M. Chu posted two dramatic screen stills to Instagram on Sunday with the caption, “You weren’t told the whole story. What happens when you veer off the Yellow Brick Road? FIRST LOOK of the #WickedMovie … currently in production in Oz. 🌪️🫧🧹 @WickedMovie @UniversalPics #2024.”
Erivo commented on the imagery, “It’s been wonderful making magic with you 💚💚💚💚💚.” In the photo, the actress is seen as a green-faced Elphaba, holding her broomstick in a a dark hall full of circular windows wearing a long black cloak and pointy hat.
Grande is seen as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, climbing a long, dark flight of stairs wearing a frothy pink ballgown with layers of sparkling tulle and sporting blonde tresses to play the famously fair-haired witch.
After getting requests in the comments section, Chu posted the photos again with a brighter setting and the new caption, “Green & Pink. It always starts with green and pink. #WickedMovie coming to you in 2024.”
The highly anticipated film is based on the Broadway musical Wicked, which is still running on The Great White Way after 18 years on stage. A prequel to the Wizard of Oz, the show’s description reads, “There is a young woman, born with emerald-green skin — smart, fiery, misunderstood and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships, until the world decides to call one good and the other one wicked.”
Academy Award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh is set to portray Madame Morrible. Jeff Goldblum will play the Wizard, and Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, Keala Settle, Bowen Yang and more round out the cast.
The Universal musical is set to hit theaters on November 27, 2024. Last April, production announced they would be breaking the story up into two films. The sequel will be released one year later.
