Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (2024)

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (1)

SOMETHING WICKED THIS way comes — and by that, we’re referring to Jon M. Chu’s long-awaited adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which is finally due to hit screens in 2024. A very long time in the making, the Wicked film has been in the works since 2012, but only really got underway in 2021, when Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were cast in their respective leading roles of Elphaba and Glinda.


After lengthy COVID- and SAG-strike-induced delays, the film is now set to be released in Australia on November 28, 2024. And as the countdown now begins, we’re starting to get a peek into what’s in store in the land of Oz. During the Super Bowl, Universal released the first teaser trailer for the film, and now, we have our first full-length trailer, promising grandeur, spectacle, and plenty of pink and green.

Read on for everything we know about the Wicked film adaptation.

Is there a trailer for Wicked 2024?

The full length trailer for Wicked Part 1 was released on May 16, 2024, and you can watch it below. In it, we get a hint of some of the musical’s most iconic tunes — “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” — as well as better looks at characters like Jonathan Bailey‘s Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard, and Michelle Yeoh’s Madame Morrible.

The first teaser trailer for Wicked Part 1 was released during the 2024 Super Bowl, teasing not only the aesthetics of the film but also some of the actors we were previously yet to see in character.

To celebrate the teaser trailer release, Erivo and Grande rocked up to the Super Bowl itself in matching custom Louis Vuitton looks. The pair sported pink and green bedazzled jerseys, with “ELPHABA” and “GLINDA” splashed on the back in purple.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (2)

When is the Wicked film coming out in Australia?

After many delays, the Wicked film is set for a global release date of November 27, 2024 — or in Australia, November 28.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (3)

Who stars in the Wicked film?

An epic film needs an epic cast, and Wicked is no exception. Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel famously originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba respectively, and left rather large shoes to fill — but it seems that director Jon M. Chu’s casting of the frenemies is pretty on point.

In November 2021, Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner Cynthia Erivo was announced as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba; with popstar and actor Ariana Grande taking up the bubblegum pink mantle of Glinda, the Good Witch. The pair immediately began teasing their Wicked sisterhood, congratulating each other on their casting by sending bouquets with heartfelt messages.


“Pink goes good with green. Congratulations Miss A, the part was made for you. I look forward to sharing this musical journey with you. Love, Cynthia,” Erivo’s note to Grande read. “Dear Cynthia, honoured doesn’t even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz. All my love, Ari,” the “yes, and?” singer wrote in her card.

Bridgerton darling Jonathan Bailey was announced as Fiyero, the lead love interest.

Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh plays Madame Morrible, who is the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University, where Glinda and Elphaba meet. Meanwhile, Jurassic Park icon Jeff Goldblum stars in the role of the Wizard.


Also appearing in the film is Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, the friend-slash-love-interest of both Glinda and Elphaba’s younger sister, Nessarose (who is played by newcomer Marissa Bode). Slater, a Broadway star, is famously now dating Grande — with the pair having met on the Wicked set.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (4)
Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (5)
Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (6)

Is there a film version of Wicked?

The film version of Wicked is finally on the way, but it’s taken well over a decade to get here.

Back in 2009, Gregory Maguire — who wrote the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was adapted into the Broadway musical Wicked in 2003 — announced that he had sold the rights for a non-musical TV adaptation to ABC. Despite reports that Salma Hayek’s production company would be signing on for a TV miniseries adaptation, nothing ever eventuated.

In 2012, film producer Mark Platt shared that a film adaptation of Broadway’s Wicked was in the works, aiming for a 2016 release. Then in 2016, Universal Studios announced that a film directed by Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry was in the works, set for a 2019 release. That plan was later scrapped in 2018, when Universal put the project on hold due to scheduling, giving the critically panned Cats adaptation the previously announced release date instead.

COVID then entered the picture, scrambling plans once again, with Daldry leaving the production due to scheduling conflicts. In October of 2020, it was announced that Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu would take up the directing mantle for Wicked. In November 2021, casting announcements began, with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande set as Elphaba and Glinda.

Special #Wicked Movie Announcement… ✌🏼🎬🧹🌸💚sent from my OzPhone: pic.twitter.com/4qPpvVD4rR

— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) April 26, 2022

In April of 2022, Chu announced that Wicked would be split into two films to avoid “fatal compromises to the source material,” with a new release date for Wicked Part 1 set for December of 2024.

Rehearsals for the film began in August 2022, and Chu confirmed the film had finally begun shooting by December of the same year. Midway through the shoot, in March 2023, Chu announced the release date was being brought up by a month to a global date of November 27, 2024; and a month later the first look images of the film were revealed.

There was still one more spanner in the works, however: Only a short while before wrapping, the shoot was suspended from July 13 to November 8 of 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Filming resumed on January 24, 2024 and concluded just two days later on January 26.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (7)
Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (8)

How many Wicked movies are there?

There will be two Wicked films, with the story split into two parts.

Why is the Wicked movie in two parts?

The Wicked film was originally set to be one big blockbuster, but according to director Jon M. Chu, it turned out to be a bigger beast than expected — and the creative team didn’t want to sacrifice any of the original musical’s beloved songs or characters. In posts to social media on April 27, 2022, Chu explained the reasoning behind the decision to split the film into two parts:

“As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of WICKED into a single film without doing some real damage to it. 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. So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one WICKED movie but TWO,” he wrote.

The runtime for the musical is 2 hours and 45 minutes — not an uncommon length for a modern day feature film, but with the team seeking to flesh out the story further, that time would have ballooned even more. Ultimately, Chu and the team decided that two films would offer more “space” to do justice to the story.

“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 of these beloved characters,” he continued.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (9)

What is Wicked about?

Think of Wicked as something of a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. The musical story is adapted from the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire. In the novel, Maguire imagined a backstory for Oz’s famed antagonist, The Wicked Witch of The West, telling the story from a new angle that highlights the way we treat outsiders and how we see the binary concepts of “good” and “evil”.

In Wicked, long before Dorothy sets foot on the yellow brick road, we meet Elphaba, a green-skinned young woman who is smart, driven, fiery and misunderstood, born with extraordinary magical talents. When she goes to university, she initially clashes with popular bubbly blonde Glinda — but as the pair get to know each other, they overcome their differences and forge a loyal friendship. But what happens when the world decides to label one half of this pair as “good,” and the other “wicked”? The musical follows their stories to show how Glinda came to be known as the Good Witch, and Elphaba as the Wicked Witch of the West, shedding new light on the beloved story.

Watch the full trailer for 'Wicked' starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (2024)

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