WICKED Trailer 2 (2024) Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo

WICKED Trailer 2 (2024) Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo

WICKED Trailer 2 (2024) Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo
© 2024 - Universal Pictures
Ozians are putting aside their panic for this one day, to celebrate!

The cause for commotion? Universal finally unveiled the first full-length trailer for its adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical. The dazzling, more than three-minute-long footage finally captures Ariana Grande‘s Glinda and Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba singing two of the show’s anthems, “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.”

A prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” recounts the events that happened before Dorothy followed that iconic yellow brick road and Elphaba, ostracized for her green skin, became the Wicked Witch of the West. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship (turned rivalry) of Elphaba and Glinda, who first met as classmates at Shiz University, and asks a central question: “Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

In the glittering trailer, Elphaba meets her (blonde!) roommate Glinda and gets gifted her signature black witch hat. Later, as Elphaba comes into her powers, she travels with Glinda to the Emerald City and comes face-to-face with the Wizard (played by Jeff Goldblum). There are also flying monkeys, yellow bricks, silver slippers and plenty of pink and green.

Popular on Variety
All the while, trouble is brewing in Oz as the Great and Terrible conjures a plan to turn the citizens against Elphaba, who discovers the Wizard has no real magical abilities. “The best way to bring folks together is to give ’em a really good enemy,” the Wizard says. Elphaba later counters: “It’s the Wizard who should be afraid of me.”

Jon M. Chu, the filmmaker of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights,” is directing the two-part adaptation. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University headmaster Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq and Bowen Yang as Pfannee. The first installment is scheduled for Nov. 27 with the sequel to follow on Nov. 26, 2025.

Prior to the trailer’s debut, Universal unveiled a featurette titled “Passion Project,” in which Chu and his two leading ladies reflected on making the films.

“I had the incredible privilege of seeing the original Broadway cast of ‘Wicked’ when I was 10, and I just felt an immediate bond,” said Grande, who, in getting the part of Glinda, promised, “I’m gonna take such good care of her.”

Erivo tearfully added, “It’s been a really long journey here, and I’m really grateful for it. I never thought in my lifetime that I would get to be part of something like this.”

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Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
With Grande and Erivo in the lead roles, the star-studded cast for Wicked includes Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Universal Pictures unveiled an all-new trailer for Wicked movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Wednesday. The two-part movie adaptation of Wicked the Musical is helmed by Jon M. Chu, known for directing popular films like Crazy Rich Asians and the Step Up franchise. Produced by La La Land's March Platt, the upcoming musical film's trailer shows Grande's Glinda and Erivo's Elphaba singing Defying Gravity.

Universal Pictures unveils all-new trailer for Ariana Grande-led 2024 film, Wicked(Universal Pictures)
Universal Pictures unveils all-new trailer for Ariana Grande-led 2024 film, Wicked(Universal Pictures)
New trailer for Wicked film released
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The teaser trailer for the Wicked film was released during Super Bowl LVIII back in February. In the latest promo, fans get an extended glimpse into the world of Wicked, which is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The film explores the characters from the beloved Wizard of Oz.

During the CinemaCon last month, attendees saw extensive footage from the upcoming film. “We dreamed very, very, very big for Wicked. A magical land of sights and sounds that will astonish, and performances that will lift your spirits and occasionally break your heart,” Chu said at the event, per Hollywood Reporter.

Who stars in Wicked movie?
With Grande and Erivo in the lead roles, the star-studded cast for Wicked includes Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp/Wicked Witch of the East, Peter Dinklage as the voice of Doctor Dillamond, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Bronwyn James as ShenShen, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, and Adam James as Glinda's father.

What is Wicked about?
The official synopsis for the 2024 film reads, “Misunderstood because of her green skin, a young woman named Elphaba forges an unlikely but profound friendship with Glinda, a student with an unflinching desire for popularity. Following an encounter with the Wizard of Oz, their relationship soon reaches a crossroad as their lives begin to take very different paths.”
The extended Wicked trailer showcases the Emerald City and CGI special effects, emphasizing the opulence of the film.
The trailer features the vocal talents of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, transforming the musical into a more pop-style adaptation.
The trailer features iconic imagery from The Wizard of Oz.
A new Wicked trailer is here. The upcoming movie adapts the beloved Broadway musical of the same name. Cynthia Erivo takes on the role of Elphaba, while Ariana Grande stars as Galinda. Wicked's first trailer dropped during the Super Bowl, teasing the film's massive scale and offering a taste of Erivo's "Defying Gravity." In addition to Erivo and Grande, Wicked features a leading cast including Michelle Yeoh, Keala Settle, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and Marissa Bode.

Now, Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for the movie.

The extended trailer offers an extended look at the Wicked universe, beginning in the famed Emerald City. The trailer quickly begins playing the notable Wicked song “Popular,” revealing Grande’s take on the role of Galinda. The bond between Galinda and Elphaba is also explored through their appearance at a dance and their experience visiting the Wizard. In addition to “Popular,” the Wicked trailer also has snippets of hit songs “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity.”

What This Wicked Trailer Reveals About the Upcoming Musical Adaptation
Can The Movie Live Up To The Broadway Show?
While the Super Bowl Wicked trailer offered a glimpse at the film, this extended trailer delves far further into this world. In addition to the Emerald City, this Wicked trailer shows some of the additional special effects used in the film. This includes a CGI flying monkey, as well as an elaborate animatronic face facade for Goldblum’s Wizard. In another moment, Grande’s Galinda is seen floating down in a bright pink bubble. The stage musical is acclaimed for the intricacy of its set, so the vibrancy of the film’s special effects is vital.

This Wicked trailer also allows further snippets of the talents of Erivo and Grande. The first trailer included some Elphaba-focused vocal moments from the film. This newest trailer also included a snippet from “Popular,” which is more focused on Galinda, allowing a chance for audiences to hear Grande’s voice in the role. Both women are powerhouse vocalists, with the instrumentation transforming the Wicked film into more of a pop style than the still-modern-sounding original Broadway cast versions.

Glinda (Ariana Grande) leans her head on Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo)'s shoulder in Wicked (2024)
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The Wicked trailer is impressive, but it is a good reminder of the importance of the film’s consistency. While audiences may suspend disbelief for a stage musical, any moments of bad CGI or something similar will be harder to swallow in a film version. So far, the special effects moments in Wicked look decent, but given how far the team seems to be leaning into the opulence of the Emerald City, it is important that Wicked and its eventual sequel proceed with caution.

Wicked releases in theaters on November 27.
Fans are singing "Thank Goodness" now that a lengthy new Wicked trailer dropped.

Following the movie’s first teaser that aired during the 2024 Super Bowl, the latest trailer debuted May 15, showing more of Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda navigating their unlikely friendship.

The two-part film adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Tony-winning Broadway show will premiere with Part One on Nov. 27, and Part Two on Nov. 26, 2025.

The Wizard of Oz prequel first came from Gregory Maguire’s hit 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was adapted for the stage in 2003. The prequel novel was inspired by L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which became the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

But Wicked tells the story before Dorothy entered Oz, Glinda became the "Good Witch" and Elphaba became the "Wicked Witch of the West."

In the Heights director Jon M. Chu is at the helm of both films. Alongside Erivo, 37, and Grande, 30, the cast includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.

Wicked - First Look
Cynthia Erivo in "Wicked". UNIVERSAL PICTURES/ YOUTUBE
All About the Wicked Movie Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
Erivo told Entertainment Tonight in 2022 that the Wicked film adaptation would be “unlike anything you've ever seen before."

"I think we're going to enjoy the magic of it. We're going to try and put our own spin on what we know already and show you a story about two women [who] are sisters."

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As for what some of those changes may be, Schwartz, 75, shared the soundtrack will slightly differ. Ahead of Erivo and Grande’s 2021 casting, he said in 2016 that the movie will also include new music.

"I can tell you that at least as of now there will be probably four new songs in the movie," said the show’s composer-lyricist at the time, according to Playbill. Schwartz clarified that three of the songs are entirely new, while the fourth was cut from the 2003 production.

Wicked First Trailer: See Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in First Footage from Movie Musical
The musical’s original Broadway cast included Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba. The original Broadway production won three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, as well as a Grammy Award.

Wicked: Part One is in theaters Nov. 27.
“Are people born wicked?” asks Ariana Grande’s Glinda in a new trailer for Universal’s Wicked released on Wednesday. “Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

Certainly, she’ll have an answer when the studio’s first of two films based on the Tony-winning Broadway musical debuts in theaters on November 27.

Recently getting an extended preview at the NBCUniversal Upfront, Wicked sees Cynthia Erivo take on the iconic role of Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power. Gilded by privilege and ambition, Grande’s Glinda is a popular young woman who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths.

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Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

First introduced on Broadway in 2003, Wicked is based on Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel of the same name — itself based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was adapted into MGM’s classic 1939 film. Serving as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the new franchise’s pair of films are both directed by Jon M. Chu, with the latter set to debut on November 26, 2025.

This new take on Wicked also stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle and Peter Dinklage. Script was written by the stage show’s book writer Winne Holzman and composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Marc Platt is producing through his Universal-based Marc Platt Productions, alongside David Stone, with Senior Executive Vice President of Production Erik Baiers and Vice President of Production Development Lexi Barta overseeing the project on behalf of the studio. David Nicksay, Schwartz and Jared LeBoff are the exec producers.

Check out the new trailer for Wicked above.
Ding dong! The wicked witch is alive and well in the first trailer for “Wicked.”

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are a vision in green and pink as they grace the fantastical land of Oz in Jon M. Chu’s upcoming movie musical. And the first look at the film, which debuted during the Super Bowl on Sunday, unfolds to the familiar strains of “Defying Gravity,” the show’s signature anthem.

“Don’t be afraid,” Grande’s Glinda reassures Erivo’s Elphaba.

“I’m not afraid,” Erivo responds, steely voiced. “It’s the Wizard who should be afraid of me.”

This is clearly a different Oz than the one that Dorthy Gale encountered. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel that inspired Broadway’s acclaimed musical of the same name, “Wicked” precedes Dorothy’s arrival in the magical world and tells the legend of world and the story behind Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Grande’s Galinda Upland later becomes Glinda the Good Witch.

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The cast includes Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible; Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar; Ethan Slater as Boq; Bowen Yang as Pfannee; and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.

Goldblum’s idiosyncratic voice can also be heard in the visually sumptuous trailer, with his wily Wizard noting, “The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy.” And it seems like Elphaba might be the villain he’s hoping to exploit.

“Something just takes over me and when it does bad things happen,” Elphaba tells Glinda.

Chu’s version of the musical was filmed in two parts to properly adapt the story. “As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of ‘Wicked’ into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” Chu said back in 2022.

“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years,” he added. “We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one ‘Wicked’ movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of ‘Wicked’ as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”

Composer Stephen Schwartz, songwriter for “Wicked,” explained that the curtain-closing number “Defying Gravity” was a large reason why the film had to be made in two parts. In a 2022 newsletter, Schwartz wrote, “We found it very difficult to get past ‘Defying Gravity’ without a break. That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic.”

“Wicked” wasn’t the only film to use the Super Bowl’s massive audience to offer fans a first look. “Deadpool 3” also debuted a trailer featuring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc With a Mouth and Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine.

The first part of Chu’s “Wicked” is set to hit theaters on Nov. 27, 2024. “Part Two” is slated for Nov. 26, 2025.

Watch the trailer below.

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Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo