Hot on the heels of a teaser trailer that dropped in February, the full-length trailer for Wicked, the new film starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, has arrived.
The story – a spin-off project inspired by and using characters from the classic film The Wizard of Oz – focuses on green-skinned Elphaba and her journey to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West and her friendship and rivalry with Glinda the Good.
Wicked is the first of a highly-anticipated two-part film adaptation of the multi-award winning West End and Broadway musical directed by Jon M Chu, best known for Crazy Rich Asians and the film adaptation of In The Heights.
Speaking in 2022, Chu revealed that the production would be split into two parts: Wicked and Wicked: Part Two.
“As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” he said.
“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.
“We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”
When will Wicked be released in the UK?
Wicked is set to arrive in UK cinemas on Friday 27 November, 2024.
Wicked: Part Two, the second and final part of the production, is expected to follow a year later on Friday 26 November, 2025.
Who is in the Wicked cast?
Wicked has attracted an all-star cast to appear in the two-part film franchise.
Ariana Grande is Glinda Upland
Ariana Grande is best known as the multi-award-winning singer and songwriter behind global hits such as “No Tears Left To Cry”,” Thank U, Next” and “Into You”.
The US native is one of the world’s best-selling musical artists and has sold over 90 million records.
She began her career at the age of 15, appearing in the Broadway musical 13. More recently, she appeared in the 2021 Netflix film Don’t Look Up alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
Grande described her first day on set filming Wicked as “the most emotional day of my life”. She said: “All I remember was holding hands with Cynthia and Jon and crying.”
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba Thropp
Cynthia Erivo is a multi-award-winning British actor and singer.
Born in London, she trained at RADA and gained major recognition for her performance in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple between 2015 and 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), in which she wrote and performed the song “Stand Up”, which attracted a nomination for the Best Original Song.
Erivo has also appeared in the Steve McQueen film Widows, Bad Times at the El Royale and Drift.
Michelle Yeoh is Madame Morrible
The Malaysian actor made Oscars history in 2023 when she became the first Asian to scoop the Best Actress Award for her role as Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once.
She rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s starring in Hong Kong action films where she performed her own stunts, and gained international recognition after starring in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she received a Bafta nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Other film appearances include Crazy Rich Asians, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Lady.
Jeff Goldblum is the Wizard of Oz
Jeff Goldblum has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, including Jurassic Park and Independence Day.
He began his acting career in the 1970s and gained widespread acclaim for his performances in The Big Chill and The Fly.
His career underwent a resurgence in the Noughties following his roles in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City.
He is also known for his role as Grandmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok.
Jonathan Bailey is Fiyero Tigelaar
Jonathan Bailey is a British actor of stage and screen best known for his role as Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton in Bridgerton. He has also starred in the romantic drama miniseries Fellow Travelers, for which he won a Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He also won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2019 for his performance in the West End gender-swapped revival of Company.
Other cast members include:
- Ethan Slater (Boq)
- Marissa Bode (Nessarose Thropp)
- Bowen Yang (Pfannee)
- Bronwyn James (ShenShen)
- Peter Dinklage (Doctor Dillamond)
- Keala Settle (Miss Coddle)
- Aaron Teoh (Averic)
- Colin Michael Carmichael (Professor Nikdik)
What can we learn from the Wicked trailer?
The trailer opens with an iconic shot of the Emerald City, where we’re first introduced to Elphaba. In a voiceover, we hear Glinda asking the question: “Are people born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”
In contrast to Glinda’s popularity, we see Elphaba suffering the mockery of her fellow students, something Glinda and her friends play a hand in. We also watch Madame Morrible being bowled over by Elphaba’s magical skills, something that seems to be both a blessing and a curse for the green witch.
After receiving an invitation to the Wizard of Oz himself, we see him say, “The best way to bring folks together, is to give them a real good enemy”. We then see effigies of Elphaba being burned before she challenges the wizard, saying, “You have no real power”, to which he replies, “That’s why I need you”. Alas, the tide has begun to turn and the vilification of Elphaba has begun in earnest, with Madame Morrible imposing upon her the title of “wicked witch”.
As the trailer wraps up, Glinda turns to Elphaba and says, “Don’t be afraid”. In response, Elphaba replies: “I’m not afraid. It’s the wizard who should be afraid of me.“
Viewers also get to see a new Ariana Grande, complete with blonde hair, and hear her singing the song “Popular”, plus Grande and Erivo duetting on the famous song “Defying Gravity”.
The trailer ends with Elphaba taking hold of her broomstick and dramatically crashing through the window.