Current:Home > Scams'Wicked': Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo sing 'Popular' and 'Defying Gravity' in new trailer -Thrive Capital Insights
'Wicked': Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo sing 'Popular' and 'Defying Gravity' in new trailer
View
Date:2025-04-14 23:10:27
"Wicked" fans, get ready to be changed for good with a new look at the highly anticipated movie adaptation.
Universal Pictures has dropped the first full trailer for "Wicked," the film version of the wildly popular Broadway musical set in the world of "The Wizard of Oz." The footage provides the fullest look yet at Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande stepping into the roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.
It begins with Grande's Glinda meeting Erivo's Elphaba when they're paired up as roommates at Shiz University, with Michelle Yeoh playing the school's headmistress. Grande is heard singing one of the stage show's most iconic songs, "Popular," which comes as Glinda gives Elphaba a makeover. After Elphaba is shown grappling with her magical abilities, Erivo then sings some of "Defying Gravity," the show-stopping number that ends the musical's first act.
The grandeur of Emerald City is also shown off in the trailer, teasing Jeff Goldblum's Wizard of Oz and plenty of flying monkeys. The fact that two songs from the stage show were used in the trailer was notable after the marketing for some recent Broadway adaptations, including "Mean Girls," seemed to downplay the source material's musical components. An orchestral version of "Defying Gravity" also accompanies the new footage.
Cynthia Erivotalks 'Wicked,' coping with real 'fear and horror' of refugee drama 'Drift'
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"Wicked" also stars Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater and Peter Dinklage. It will be the first in a two-part adaptation of the Broadway musical, which depicts the friendship between the two characters who will become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Both halves of the adaptation are directed by Jon M. Chu ("In the Heights").
While the "Wicked" adaptation was initially expected to be one movie, Chu shared in 2022 that it was split into two after it became "clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it."
In February, a first look at "Wicked" was one of the most talked-about trailers revealed during the Super Bowl, and on Monday, Universal released a sizzle reel of the cast and crew discussing the making of the film. The video included footage of Erivo and Grande learning they had been cast and becoming overwhelmed with emotion.
See Ariana GrandeCynthia Erivo's 'Wicked' transformation photos: 'I'm crying real tears'
"I love her so much," Grande said, referring to Glinda. "I'm going to take such good care of her."
In the sizzle reel, Chu described "Wicked" as the one movie he has always wanted to make. During a presentation at CinemaCon in April, Universal chairwoman Donna Langley said that Erivo and Grande are both "powerhouse performers" who were "born to play these roles."
See 'Wicked' official poster
Ahead of Wednesday's trailer debut, Universal also revealed the official poster for "Wicked."
When is the 'Wicked' release date?
"Wicked" will arrive into theaters following a string of films based on Broadway musicals that failed to ignite at the box office, including "West Side Story," "Dear Evan Hansen," and Chu's own "In the Heights." It's set to open on Nov. 27 — the same day as another highly anticipated musical, Disney's "Moana 2." "Wicked Part Two" will then hit theaters a year later on Nov. 26, 2025.
Contributing: Brian Truitt
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- A morning swim turns to a fight for survival: NY man rescued after being swept out to sea
- Politicians urge Taylor Swift to postpone LA concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers
- Stolen car hits 10 people and other vehicles in Manhattan as driver tries to flee, police say
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- USWNT is in trouble at 2023 World Cup if they don't turn things around — and fast
- How Richard E. Grant still finds 'A Pocketful of Happiness' after losing wife to cancer
- NASA launch live stream: Watch Antares rocket take off for International Space Station
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- Poorly designed crossing contributed to fatal 2022 Missouri Amtrak derailment, officials say
Ranking
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Progress made against massive California-Nevada wildfire but flames may burn iconic Joshua trees
- Where to Buy Cute Home Decor For Your Dorm or First Apartment If You're on a Budget
- Pilot killed in southern Illinois helicopter crash was crop-dusting at the time
- Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
- Dem Sean Hornbuckle taking over West Virginia House minority leader role
- Russian drone strikes on the Odesa region cause fires at port near Romania
- Missouri executes man for 2002 abduction, killing of 6-year-old girl lured to abandoned factory
Recommendation
Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
Malians who thrived with arrival of UN peacekeeping mission fear economic fallout from its departure
Dem Sean Hornbuckle taking over West Virginia House minority leader role
Horoscopes Today, August 1, 2023
Travis Hunter, the 2
Florida set to execute inmate James Phillip Barnes in nurse’s 1988 hammer killing
Expenses beyond tuition add up. How college students should budget to stretch their money.
Multiple dogs euthanized in Alabama after fatally attacking 27-year-old man