Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been cast in Universal Pictures’ upcoming feature adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, Wicked. The two performers will be portraying Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, Deadline is reporting.
The Grammy Award-winning singers teamed up to share the news that they’ll be starring in the film on their Instagram pages. The movie will be helmed by Jon M. Chu, whose last directorial effort was a screen adaptation of another popular Broadway musical, this past summer’s In the Heights.
The Emmy- and Tony Award-winning Erivo shared a series of photos on the social media platform. The performer, who was also nominated for an Oscar her portrayal of Harriet Tubman in the 2019 biopic, Harriet, accompanied the pictures with the caption: “Pink goes good with Green…@wickedmovie @jonmchu @arianagrande.”
The post from Grande included photos of the two performers receiving Zoom calls from Chu, who told them they were being cast in the big-screen adaptation of Wicked. Grande, who’s known for starring on the Nickelodeon sitcoms, Victorious and Sam & Cat, also added a caption to her Instagram announcement, which reads: “Dear Cynthia, honored doesn’t even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz…Thank goodness @jonmchu @cynthiaerivo @wickedmovie.”
Chu also tweeted about the news, saying: “Goooood Newwwws!!! The incredible #CynthiaErivo and @ArianaGrande will be our Elphaba and Galinda in @WickedMovie @UniversalPics Get ready for a match up like you’ve never seen!!! In pink and green!!!”
The screen adaptation of Wicked is currently in development, and its production is set to begin next summer in the UK. The film is being produced by Marc Platt through his Universal-based Marc Platt Productions. Universal Pictures’ Senior Executive Vice President of Production, Erik Baiers and Vice President of Production Development, Lexi Barta will oversee the movie .
The Tony Award-winning stage production of Wicked is one of Broadway’s longest-running musicals. It launched in 2003, and is still in production. After a year-and-a-half Covid-19 hiatus, the musical returned to the New York stage on September 14.
Wicked is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz. It follows the unlikely friendship of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, The Good Witch, while they were in school.
The stage production is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which itself is a retelling of the classic 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The Broadway musical is also inspired in part by the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz, but its plot begins before, and continues after, Dorothy Gale arrives in Oz from Kansas.