Everything we already know about “Wicked”, the new film with Ariana Grande

“Wicked”, the prologue to Universal Pictures’ “The Wizard of Oz”, starring the singers and actresses Ariana Grande It is Cynthia Erivowill be divided into two chapters, with ‘part 1’ scheduled to hit cinemas later this year, covering the events that preceded Dorothy’s arrival in Oz.

With this in mind, RECREIO put together a list of everything that is already known about the feature film, in order to prepare fans of the musical for the cinematic plot. Check out!

1. Plot

The film “Wicked” is an adaptation of the musical of the same name set in the universe of “The Wizard of Oz”, where, in its original season on Broadway, it brought Idina Menzel It is Kristin Chenoweth in the skins of Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the Good Witch of the South.

The plot follows Elphaba who, after some events, ends up becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She and Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, become unlikely friends after meeting at Shiz University, run by Madame Morrible. However, the differences between them and the dispute over a common romantic interest, Fiyero Tiggular, will make the two face several trials.

2. Cast

For the film to take shape, Ariana Grande was chosen to play the iconic Glinda, while Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) will bring Elphaba to life. In addition to them, Michelle Yeoh (Everything in Everywhere at the Same Time), will be Madame Morrible, one of the main antagonists of the story, and Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), Prince Fiyero, love interest of the two witches, will play.

The cast also features names like Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Ethan Slater (The SpongeBob Musical: Live on Stage!), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) and many others.

3. Previews

The first images from the film were revealed last year through a post on X (formerly Twitter). This happened on April 16th, when the film’s director, Jon M. Chuexposed the characterization of Elphaba and Glinda, where it is possible to see Ariana wearing the iconic pink puffy dress and Erivo with the memorable green skin of its characters.

In the caption, he wrote: “Everything changed with these two women… Cynthia Erivo It is Ariana Grande like the witches of Oz. They will cheer you up, break your heart and leave you speechless with their voices. Very excited to introduce them to our world… There’s a lot more to come.”

At the time of publishing this article, details such as the official synopsis, teasers and trailers have not been released to the public.

4. Recordings

The project was confirmed in 2021, but recordings only started in June 2022, having completed the filming period last week.

So much so that, in celebration of the end of recording, on January 25th, Ariana published a photo of her character’s silhouette on her personal Instagram profile with the caption: “like a handprint on my heart”.

The next day, Erivo also released an image of her character’s shadows. In addition to thanking the team, in the caption she revealed her expectations regarding the public’s approval of the character: “I hope that when you meet her [Elphaba]you will love her as much and as intensely as I do.”

5. Debut

The premiere of the first part of the film was brought forward by a month, as the old date predicted that the film would hit theaters at Christmas this year. However, it was confirmed by the film’s director that the project will hit the big screen on November 27, 2024, a date that corresponds to the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.

The post reads: “WICKED NEWS: We’re deeply involved in the production of WICKED and every day we get more and more excited to share with you the shenanigans we’ve been up to. So…We decided to deliver this to you all a little earlier than planned. OUR NEW RELEASE is November 27, 2024! A little Thanksgiving gift!”

In Brazil, the production should be shown on November 28th of this year, while the second chapter should be released exactly one year later, on December 27th, 2025.