The first official glimpse at the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Broadway's Wicked surfaced online, offering fans a peek at Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the lead witches.
The 2024 movie-musical has a star-studded cast beyond Erivo as Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Grande as Glinda, with castings like Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.
Wicked was first announced back in 2016, with a then-2019 release date. The stars' castings were made public five years later. It will include new music as well as the iconic songs from the Tony-winning show and is set to hit theaters on November 27, 2024, according to Grande's Instagram.
Though photos from filming have surfaced online from the stars' social media, and a minimalist poster was used to announce the November release date, no images of the movie itself were released, until now.
Ariana Grande on Set as Glinda the Good Witch for Wicked Movie
The first high-resolution photos of Ariana Grande as Glinda were obtained by the Dailymail. These photos were taken on the Buckinghamshire set of Wicked.
The full images also show the first full glimpse of Oz in the Wicked movie, looking as vibrant and magical as fans may expect from the magical world.
More Images of Grande's Glinda and Erivio's Elphaba
Images of both Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba from the upcoming Wicked movie adaptation were unveiled on the actors' Instagram pages, featuring the stars in all their wicked glory.
Grande's Glinda, in the new still from the actor's Instagram, is adorned in a gorgeous pink ballgown. She is ascending upstairs as gracefully as would be expected from the good witch.
The Broadway production's set utilizes multiple levels onstage, with songs and scenes from both the stage level and the balcony. The seemingly wooden-like steps are reminiscent of that multi-level set design.
In the photo shared by Erivo of her as Elphaba, the titular Wicked Witch of the West, the actor averts her gaze away from the camera, adorned in the classic all-black witch attire, including the hat and broom.
The set around her is incredibly similar aesthetically to the Broadway show the movie is based on, with the green-and-brown circular patterns both in front of and behind the character.
What Can Fans Expect from Wicked?
These images offer fans worried that the Wicked film will not live up to the legacy of the long-running Broadway musical a glimmer of hope, given how aesthetically similar to the show they appear to be.
The steam-punk-inspired aesthetic of the musical is particularly evident in the Elphaba still, utilizing similar geometric patterns to the stage show.
The costuming also clearly pulls from the designs of the popular Broadway musical, with the colors in particular closely matching Glinda's look in "Popular" and Elphaba's in "Defying Gravity."
While the "Popular" costume color is almost identical to the Broadway version, it opts for a more extravagant ballgown design, rather than a short party dress as is used on Broadway.
Further, the actors themselves truly are looking their parts. Glinda presents regally and gracefully, whereas Elphaba appears shy and introspective.
However, these are merely two stills from a full feature film. Until more is released, this is basically all that fans have to go on prior to the movie's release.
Wicked is set to release on November 27, 2024.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
