We’re certainly not in Kansas anymore, but we’re definitely ready to defy gravity, because the first official trailer for the Wicked movie has us absolutely floating.
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During the first Super Bowl commercial break, Universal Pictures released the first look at the 2024 film adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical.
In the preview, unveiling director Jon M. Chu’s Oz for the very first time, as the recognizable notes of “Defying Gravity” played, GRAMMY-winning Pop star Ariana Grande, and GRAMMY, Tony, and Emmy-winning actor Cynthia Erivo are seen in character as Elphaba and Glinda, the witches whose friendship-turned-rivalry fuels the story.
As was expected, Grande stuns and sparkles as Glinda the Good Witch, audibly gasping, “You’re green!” to Erivo’s Elphaba, who will eventually become Wicked Witch of the West, as the characters meet for the first time.
The wickedly talented cast of Wicked also stars Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Keala Settle, Jeff Goldblum and more.
For those who don’t already know — Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Which tells the backstory for the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch before Dorothy Gale crashes into their world in The Wizard of Oz. The play has been a Broadway hit since 2004, jump-staring the careers of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who took on the roles of Elphaba and Glinda respectively.
Talking to Vanity Fair about how Wicked is more than a megahit Broadway musical, director Chu said, “This is the American fairy tale. We are in a time where we are reassessing the story of life in America. What is truth? What is a happy ending? Is the yellow brick road the road to follow? Is someone really there on the other end who’s going to give you your heart’s desire?”
The story of Wicked will be broken up into two movie installments, the first of which will take flight this year on November 27, while the second hits theaters November 26, 2025.
“We didn’t want to end up making one four-hour movie and then cutting out songs. We want to satisfy the fans of the musical,” Producer Marc Platt expressed. “Film allows you to create a place and a time—a university like Shiz, an extraordinary Emerald City governor’s mansion. There’s so much more to explore.”
Watch the Wicked trailer below.