First Images of the Musical Adaptation Wicked Have Been Published

"The Wizard of Oz" from 1939 was not only one of the first color films ever made, but is now also one of the absolute classics of film history. Not quite as famous is the musical "Wicked – The Untold Story Of The Witches Of Oz" from 2003. In contrast to the original, the Broadway prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" is aimed at an older audience. Hollywood has been working for many years on bringing "Wicked" to the big screen and presenting it to a larger audience. This week, after a long period of uncertainty, we finally got to see the first images of the film adaptation.

Director Jon M. Chu, who previously directed the acclaimed "Crazy Rich Asians", shared two pictures via Twitter as well as information about the featured actresses. They are the two pop stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who will play the leading roles of Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland. While during the course of the story Glinda develops into the Good Witch of the North, Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Thus, two interesting and, above all, opposing characters are the focus of the story.

Director Chu promoted the film and even stated that both leading actresses had had a great influence on him personally. The voices of the two musicians are said to have the potential to uplift, to break hearts and to render speechless. So it seems that the standards set by those in charge are very high. You can get a first impression of Ariana Grande's performance from a leaked video of the filming, which was posted by Entertainment Tonight and others at the beginning of the week.

By the way, the story about the two witches will be shown on the big screen not in one, but in two parts. You can expect to see "Wicked - Part 1" starting on November 27, 2024, while "Wicked - Part 2" will be released on December 25, 2025.