Wicked movie gives first look at Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in character – and fans are divided
First look at Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked. (Getty)
Wicked fans received a peek at first look shots of the highly-anticipated film adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.
The mammoth Universal production, which is split into two parts, will drop part one in November 2024. While fans eagerly await its release, director Jon Chu has shared a taster of what’s to come.
Taking to social media, Chu wrote: “You weren’t told the whole story. What happens when you veer off the Yellow Brick Road?” alongside two photos.
The first shows Cynthia Erivo as our future Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, in her magnificent witchy green get up. The second is of Ariana Grande in a stunning pink puffy dress as Glinda the Good Witch.
As Chu wrote: “Green & Pink. It always starts with green and pink.” While Erivo commented: “It’s been wonderful making magic with you.”
The movie adaptation, which tells the beloved story of The Wizard of Oz from the perspective of our “villain” the Wicked Witch of the West, will also star Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.
There are still 70 days of filming to go, so fans can hopefully expect more teasers from set. In the meantime, however, people have many many thoughts on our first glimpse.
Some have pointed out that the shots are very dark, leaving fans worried it will not be an illuminating spectacle.
“When people call Wicked a dark reimagining, they don’t mean it literally. Ask Universal to buy you some lights,” one fan complained.
Another added: “They don’t qualify as ‘first looks’ if you have to zoom in and turn up the brightness on your device just to make anything out.”
However, Chu swept in with reassurances for concerned fans, tweeting: “Don’t worry, colour is in my DNA … this is just the first tease. Plenty of time to show more … stay tuned.”
He added: “We still have a year and half to show you our colours! Trust me, plenty of colours in Oz. We still have 70 days to shoot left.”
He also pointed to photos from the Wicked set which show an explosion of colour.
One fan reminded others of Chu’s colourful previous films such as In The Heights, Crazy Rich Asians and Jem and the Holograms.
Social media users also pointed out that Wicked has never been bright and campy.
On the flip side, people are ready to trust Jon Chu and musical composer Stephen Schwartz with this hotly anticipated adaptation, and have high hopes for seeing their musical theatre favourites such as “Defying Gravity”, “Popular” and “For Good” on the big screen.
“Is it just me or did it get chilly all of a sudden?….. Just the thought of seeing this on the big screen with Stephen Schwartz’s magical music in full surround sound makes me tingle all over!!” one person wrote.
Another added: “You’re creating magic. This fell into the right hands. Can’t wait to see how this unfolds.”
And the impatience to see the film adaptation come to life is real …
Wicked: Part One hits theatres on 27 November 2024.
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