Grande and Erivo will portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Universal's big screen adaptation directed by Jon M. Chu.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are officially starring in Wicked.
The 28-year-old singer and the 34-year-old Oscar-nominated actress have been cast in Universal's big-screen adaptation of the musical. Set to be directed by Jon M. Chu, the two stars revealed the exciting news on their social media on Thursday. Grande is set to play Glinda, while Erivo will take on the role of Elphaba.
Grande posted a series of photos of her finding out the news and a screenshot of a video chat with the In the Heights director and Erivo, as well as flowers that her new co-star sent her.
"thank goodness 💘 @jonmchu @cynthiaerivo @wickedmovie," Grande simply captioned the post.
Erivo, on her end, also shared a screenshot of her getting emotional as she found out she got the role, as well as a note Grande sent her with her flowers.
"Pink goes good with Green 💚💚💚 @wickedmovie @jonmchu @arianagrande," the actress wrote.
Chu also posted on his social media, confirming the casting and role, writing, "These two witches!! The emotional moment I got to tell @cynthiaerivo and @arianagrande that they were our Elphaba and Galinda in the @WickedMovie for @unistudios 😭😭😭wait until you see what they bring!! It is other worldly. Ahhhhh!!!"
The film is currently in development with production set to start in summer 2022 in the U.K. Winnie Holzman and composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz are currently collaborating on the screenplay adaptation.
Grande is no stranger to Wicked. In 2018, she formed part of A Very Wicked Halloween, a concert marking Wicked’s 15 years on Broadway. The pop star sang the role of Elphaba, which Idina Menzel originated. Broadway's original Glinda was Kristin Chenoweth.
In September, Menzel told ET why she was "emotional" over the Tony-winning musical's 18th anniversary, and recent reunion with Chenoweth.
"When Kristin and I are given this opportunity to get together on these anniversary moments, we're really very emotional about it because we're able to look back and really feel a sense of pride about what we were making."
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