The hit Broadway musical Wicked is being adapted into two films, and Cynthia Erivo loves that the movies expand upon the stage version.
“What’s wonderful about the show is that you get an insight into why this woman becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, but you have only three hours to do it in,” Erivo, 37, told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Monday, February 12. “With us, you have two movies.”
The Emmy, Grammy and Tony winner (who is just an Oscar short of EGOT status) portrays Elphaba Thropp, a young woman with green skin who becomes The Wicked Witch of the West. She co-stars with Ariana Grande who plays Glinda Upland. She eventually becomes Glinda the Good Witch.
Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The book provides 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 staple on Broadway since 2004 and jumpstarted the careers of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.
Part One tells the story of how Elphaba and Glinda developed their friendship before evolving into witches.
“In this first movie, you get to really get to know [Elphaba] as a young lady and what pushes her to the thing that we get to know,” Erivo added. “The story gets to be opened. You really get to experience magic, and we can do that.”
The film duology fully explores the backstory of Thropp and Upland.
“You can follow these women behind the scenes a little bit more, and you get to learn about the two of them,” Erivo continued. “We’ve expanded on their relationship as friends. That’s a really important special thing that you have in the show, but here you really get to go with them in that. We’ve got something really special.”
Erivo and Grande attended Super Bowl LVIII together on Sunday in Las Vegas and wore custom Louis Vuitton sequin jerseys featuring the names of their characters (Elphaba and Glinda) written across their backs.
The first trailer for Wicked premiered during the Super Bowl. In the clip, fans got to see the stars make their debut as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The movie also features Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Keala Settle and more.
The brief teaser provided the first look at Oz as the recognizable notes of the musical’s signature song, “Defying Gravity,” played. Grande’s Glinda arrives in pink and is shocked as she meets Erivo’s Elphaba. “You’re green,” Glinda gasps.
Meanwhile, Elphaba warns of her impending darkness. “Something just takes over me, and when it does, bad things happen,” she says.
Wicked Part One hits theaters on November 27, while the second film will premiere one year later on November 25, 2025.
