‘Wicked’ Movie Adaptation Will be Split into Two Films According to Star Ariana Grande
Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Reading Time: 2 minutes
The Voice coach Ariana Grande just shared some exciting news about the upcoming Wicked movie. The project, which stars Grande as Glinda, will be split into two parts. The singer posted a message from director Jon M. Chu on Instagram.
‘Wicked’ Movie to Be Split into Two Parts
To let fans in on the announcement, Grande shared a page of sheet music with the line, “Good news!” from her character Glinda. She called the news “thrillifying.”
In Chu’s message, he writes that while preparing the film’s production over the past year, “it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of WICKED into a single film without doing some real damage to it.”
Rather than “cut songs or trim characters,” the team decided to make two movies instead of just one. As the director wrote, “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 of these beloved characters.”
Chu also shared that the two movies will be released “on successive Christmas holidays beginning December 2024.” He promised to keep fans up to date throughout the process, starting with rehearsals.
Grande Will Star Opposite Cynthia Erivo
The upcoming two-part movie project is based on the iconic Broadway musical of the same name, which premiered in 2003 and starred Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as Glinda and Elphaba. Now Grande and Cynthia Erivo will take on the roles.
The Tony-winning show tells the story of Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, before Dorothy showed up. It’s known for songs like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.”
Grande has been a hugely popular choice to play Glinda for years now. All the way back in 2011, Grande tweeted that she would love to take on the role someday, and now it’s finally happening. News broke of the casting last November.
Director Jon M. Chu has experience with movie musicals, as he recently helmed an adaptation of In the Heights. He’s also known for directing Crazy Rich Asians, as well as several Step Up movies.
