Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reflect on ‘mirrored experience’ in Wicked after ‘finding each other’

As the release date for the highly anticipated movie Wicked draws ever closer, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have reflected on their “mirrored experience” of their characters’ relationship after “finding each other.”  

A new teaser trailer for Jon M. Chu’s new musical film adaptation, with the clip called The Powerful Bond of Friendship, dropped on 22 August. The director and fellow stars Grande, Erivo, and even Jonathan Bailey weighed in on the film’s central themes, with Chu saying: “Wicked, to me, at its very core, is about friendship.”

Grande, who plays Glinda the Good Witch in the film, says: “These two very different women just fall completely in love with each other, and that is a mirrored experience of what happened with Cynthia and I.”

Erivo, who plays Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, added: “We just sort of — I just got chills — we both just found each other, I guess. We just got each other immediately.”

“There’s a wild, sort of soul connection between the two of them. It’s such a complimenting chemistry, but they’re so different,” Bailey said, who plays “Oz’s most eligible bachelor” Fiyero. 

Wicked: Part One is set to follow unlikely friends Glinda (Grande) and Elphaba (Erivo) as they learn about the magical land of Oz. Idina Menzel played Elphaba in the original 2003 Broadway musical Wicked.

Wicked is based on the musical, which is itself adapted from the original L. Frank Baum children’s novels that first came out in 1900. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards, and its original cast album received a Grammy Award.

As well as Erivo, Grande and Bailey, the Wicked cast boasts an impressive, star-studded line-up of A-listers. Jeff Goldblum plays the sinister Wizard and Michelle Yeoh is Madame Morrible.

Alongside them, Marissa Bode is Nessarose, Bowen Yang is Pfannee, and Keala Settle is Miss Coddle.

Ethan Slater also plays Boq, all eyes will be on Slater and Grande upon the film’s release as the co-stars reportedly entered into a controversial romance during filming. 

The Wicked story, director Jon M. Chu, has been divided into two films. The first, Wicked: Part One, is out 29 November 2024.

We’ll have to be patient for the second instalment which will be released on 26 November 2025.