'Wicked': Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo sing 'Popular' and 'Defying Gravity' in new trailer
"Wicked" fans, get ready to be changed for good with a new look at the highly anticipated movie adaptation.
Universal Pictures has dropped the first full trailer for "Wicked," the film version of the wildly popular Broadway musical set in the world of "The Wizard of Oz." The footage provides the fullest look yet at Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande stepping into the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
It begins with Grande's Glinda meeting Erivo's Elphaba when they're paired up as roommates at Shiz University, with Michelle Yeoh playing the school's headmistress. Grande is heard singing one of the stage show's most iconic songs, "Popular," which comes as Glinda gives Elphaba a makeover. After Elphaba is shown grappling with her magical abilities, Erivo then sings some of "Defying Gravity," the show-stopping number that ends the musical's first act.
The grandeur of Emerald City is also shown off in the trailer, teasing Jeff Goldblum's Wizard of Oz and plenty of flying monkeys. The fact that two songs from the stage show were used in the trailer was notable after the marketing for some recent Broadway adaptations, including "Mean Girls," seemed to downplay the source material's musical components. An orchestral version of "Defying Gravity" also accompanies the new footage.
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"Wicked" also stars Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater and Peter Dinklage. It will be the first in a two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical, which depicts the friendship between the two characters who will become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Both halves of the adaptation are directed by Jon M. Chu ("In the Heights").
While the "Wicked" adaptation was initially expected to be one movie, Chu shared in 2022 that it was split into two after it became "clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it."
In February, a first look at "Wicked" was one of the most talked-about trailers revealed during the Super Bowl, and on Monday, Universal released a sizzle reel of the cast and crew discussing the making of the film. The video included footage of Erivo and Grande learning they had been cast and becoming overwhelmed with emotion.
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"I love her so much," Grande said, referring to Glinda. "I'm going to take such good care of her."
In the sizzle reel, Chu described "Wicked" as the one movie he has always wanted to make. During a presentation at CinemaCon in April, Universal chairwoman Donna Langley said that Erivo and Grande are both "powerhouse performers" who were "born to play these roles."
See 'Wicked' official poster
Ahead of Wednesday's trailer debut, Universal also revealed the official poster for "Wicked."
When is the 'Wicked' release date?
"Wicked" will arrive into theaters following a string of films based on Broadway musicals that failed to ignite at the box office, including "West Side Story," "Dear Evan Hansen," and Chu's own "In the Heights." It's set to open on Nov. 27 — the same day as another highly anticipated musical, Disney's "Moana 2." "Wicked Part Two" will then hit theaters a year later on Nov. 26, 2025.
Contributing: Brian Truitt