It won't be long until audiences are looking to the western sky to find a brand-new adaptation of the smash hit Broadway musical Wicked. From director Jon M. Chu, the film will star Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, Ariana Grande as her nemesis-turned-best friend Glinda the Good Witch, and Jonathan Bailey as the rakish Prince Fiyero.
In a recent interview with Collider's own Christina Radish for her new project Luther: The Fallen Sun, Erivo teased what fans of the musical, which originally starred Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth, can expect when Part One of the adaptation hits theaters on Christmas Day 2024. When asked how the film will compare to the stage show, Erivo said:
"I don’t know that you can compare them. It’s like apples to oranges. The show is its own thing. The show is its own legend. I think this film is both an homage to the show and the book. We also get to create something really new and slightly different to what you’d be used to seeing. We’re lucky, in that we have the space to really fill the world and to really fill these characters. You’ll be able to get into the psyche of these women. You’ll get to know them more. You will live with them a lot more, and you’ll live with them a lot longer. I think it’s really special that we get to reintroduce these two women to you, in a slightly different way."
When asked what part of the process Erivo found most surprising — the character exploration or the partnership between the future Good Witch and Wicked Witch—she pointed to the relationship and dynamic between Elphaba and Glinda, saying:
"It’s a bit of both. The thing that I’m maybe the most surprised by, and I’ll say this about character exploration and the relationship that she has with Glinda, is that when you start to crack it open, you start to learn that these two women both have hurts of their own that they have to overcome, and they’ve been overcompensating by doing certain things to cover what they’re feeling. And I think because we have the space and room to deal with that, you get to see it more. You get to see their hearts a little bit more. And you realize that these two women are actually really alike. Yes, they’re very different. But actually, at their very core, they’re two very similar beings who have almost the same wants, but have very different ways of getting to them."
As for whether the film will feature new music, in addition to such memorable tunes as "Defying Gravity" and "As Long As You're Mine," Erivo remained coy, simply saying, "I cannot tell you that. I cannot possibly tell you that. But I think you’ll be pleasantly pleased."
In addition to Erivo, Grande, and Bailey, Wicked is set to star Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, with Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Melissa Bode, Keala Settle, Colin Michael Carmichael, and Aaron Teoh rounding out the cast.
Wicked Part 1 hits theaters on December 25, 2024. Look for our full interview with Erivo soon.