We already know that Michelle Yeoh is a wiz at hopping through multiverses, and we’re sure that she’ll grab the spotlight in her next project as the Everything Everywhere All at Once actress has officially been cast in Universal’s big-screen adaptation of Wicked. Variety reports that Yeoh will play Madame Morrible, one of the main antagonists in the story, and the character who demonizes the misunderstood Elphaba, dubbing her the Wicked Witch of the West. Her path crosses with Elphaba’s in Crage Hall at Shiz University where she serves as headmistress and quickly takes a shine to the young witch who holds extreme power.
Yeoh’s casting announcement comes just one day after we learned that SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical star and Tony-nominated actor, Ethan Slater, would be joining the production as Boq. Previously announced in the leading roles were Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba with Jonathan Bailey joining as Fiyero. It was reported that Jeff Goldblum was in talks to play the Wizard, a casting that we’re rooting for, but that hasn’t been confirmed as of right now.
Dancing onto Broadway back in 2003, Wicked was penned by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman and is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The story is a prequel to the classic tale of The Wizard of Oz and details the events leading up to Dorothy’s arrival in the magical land and her journey to the Emerald City - specifically how the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch came to be. The musical was a massive success and continued to allow Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth’s careers to defy gravity. It would absolutely crush at that year’s Tony celebration where it was nominated for ten awards, taking home two.
The film is under the direction of Jon M. Chu, in what will be his second musical feature following this year's In the Heights. It will also mark a reunion for the director and Yeoh after the duo teamed up for 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians. Yeoh was recently announced to be appearing in the upcoming Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and will next be seen in The Witcher: Blood Origin.
As for Wicked, fans can expect to see the first part of the two-parter fly onto their screens around Christmas 2024, with the finale coming in 2025. Check out a Collider interview with Yeoh and her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star Jamie Lee Curtis below.