Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will star in Wicked; Credits: The Hollywood Reporter
The hit musical Wicked is finally going to get its Universal's adaptation. The show was able to generate $1 Billion in ticket sales and made history by becoming one of the only three shows to have reached the mark. The show had debuted on Broadway in 2003 and just a year later made headlines as Universal announced its adaptation of the musical in 2004.
While it has been a long time since then, after long last, the Universal adaption has its leads, and it is finally set for production!
The show will be featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, while the Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu. will sit behind the camera. The role of Elphaba goes to Erivo while Ariana will play Glinda.
The Broadway version of the story was based on the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire, published in 1995. Wicked, for the most part, is a spinoff story about the friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from the classic tale of Wizard of Oz. The OG Broadway edition of the story debuted with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwarts, while Winni Holzman went on to write the book for the musical show.
Presently, the two lead ladies are going to carry the story of the timeless witches on the big screens and introduce the genius of the past to the present. Cynthia Erivo, who is to play Elphaba, is a two-time Oscar nominee for her movie Harriet released in 2019. She was also nominated for an Emmy award for her role, where she portrayed Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha. Apart from the nominations, Cynthia has also been awarded a Grammy award and a Tony for the Broadway musical The Color Purple.
The actress had made her impressionable debut on the big screen for the first time with Bad Times at the El Royale, the 2018 film.
Ariana Grande, for her part, is one of the most successful pop artists in the world and has had the pleasure of taking home two Grammys. The singer and actress have made long-standing records on the charts and have released several multi-platinum albums. The singer was first featured in the Nickelodeon show Victorious and is now ready to appear alongside Leonardo Di Caprio and Jennifer Lawrence in 'Don't Look Up,' Adam McKay's Netflix film. The 'Positions' singer also starred in Victorious spinoff Sam and Cat.
What is most fascinating about Ariana's casting in the Wicked film is that back in 2019, Kristen Chenoweth, the original Glinda from the Broadway musical Wicked, shared that she wanted Ariana Grande to be on the screen portraying the role. The other name she had in mind for the character was Dove Cameron.
Talking about the “Thank U Next” singer, aged 26, and the Descendants actress, aged 23, the OG Glinda star said, “I’ve been plugging for these two for a while. You know, it’s Ariana and Dove for me. For sure, that’s who I think is fit for the role. Those two.”
While the singer didn't specify which of the two actresses will get to carry on the legacy of her role as Glinda, several fans had come forward campaigning for Ariana Grande to take up the helm of the role to portray Elphaba while demanding that Dove Cameron played Glinda. Now that Ariana will be Glinda, it would be fascinating to see what the actress has to say about the manifestations that she had for the Universal production.
Nevertheless, 'No One Mourns the Wicked' singer had also suggested some other interesting names for the cast of the latest movie. Narrowing it down to the age of the cast members, the singer said, “It just depends on what age they cast. If they go with someone in their 30s, I would say Lea Michele and Beth Behrs. It just depends on how they cast it. But, I mean, Dove and Ariana would just be amazing.”
The “You Don’t Own Me” singer recently covered a song along with Ariana Grande. As the two geared up to sing the Lesley Gore song, the actress, aged 53, opened up about her relationship with the '7 Rings' singer. The Witches actress said, “I just was so excited to sing with my little mentor, my little mentee. I’m older than her, and I want her to remember the things I’ve tried to teach. … I’m learning from her. She’s teaching me a lot too. I think that’s the best part about a friendship, especially one separated by a couple of decades.”
The two share an adorable bond, and now that Chenobeth has her dream of seeing her 'little mentee' walking in her steps, her previous advice for the young actress would totally benefit the latter. “We still need breaks. I’ve had to learn that lesson myself. I’m still learning it. I’m always here. That’s what I want her to know. I mean, that’s what she knows, actually, through the bad and the ugly. And I know that about her too for me,” she said
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Ervio shared their casting news with the world through their Instagram accounts this Thursday. The two had together attended the video call that revealed the news of them being chosen, and the actresses were delighted beyond words. The to-be witches also shared emotional hand-written notes and are extremely excited to meet each other.
The "34+35" singer shared a picture of her in awe with her face in her hands as she took in the casting news relayed to her by the laptop in front of her. Alongside the picture, the star also posted a hand-written note and flowers that were sent to her from her new co-star, Cynthia Erivo. The note read: "Pink goes good with Green. Congratulations, Miss A, the part was made for you. I look forward to sharing this musical journey with you. Love, Cynthia."
The actress further shared screen grabs from the casting video call that she attended along with Cynthia and Jon M. Chu., the filmmaker in command of the movie. She captioned the pictures, "thank goodness."
Following Ariana sharing the note, Cynthia also posted the note that she received from Ariana. The lovely note went: 'Dear Cynthia, honored doesn't even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz. All my love, Ari." She also shared her own snaps from the moment when she heard the casting news.
Hoping for a great watch with Wicked!
