Washington [US] : The ‘Wicked’ movie has found its leads. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are set to feature in the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. As per Variety, Grande and Erivo will portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Universal’s big-screen adaptation being helmed by ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ fame director Jon M. Chu. He has been attached to the project since February, and casting rumours for the film’s two main roles have been swirling for months. A prequel to ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Wicked’ will tell the story of everything leading up to Dorothy’s arrival in Oz. In its original Broadway run, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth portrayed frenemies Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch. With Broadway theatres reopening after a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘Wicked’ has recently resumed its live performances. The ‘Wicked’ movie adaptation has been a long time coming and was most recently stalled by Stephen Daldry’s departure as director last October due to scheduling conflicts. Stephen Schwartz, who penned the music and lyrics to the Broadway show, is adapting the screenplay with Winnie Holzman. Marc Platt, who produced the Broadway musical, is set to also produce the film. Both Grande and Erivo are true multi-hyphenates, with Grammy-winning singer Grande getting her start on Broadway in the musical ’13’ and acting in shows like ‘Victorious’ and Adam McKay’s upcoming film ‘Don’t Look Up’. Erivo, on the other hand, is near EGOT status — having received a Tony, Grammy and daytime Emmy award for her role as Celie in the 2015-2017 revival of ‘The Color Purple’.
