The First “Wicked” Trailer Arrives on the Wings of Flying Monkeys
The first trailer for director John M. Chu’s Wicked has arrived on a pair of wings.
Chu’s Wicked is the first big-screen adaptation of one of the most successful Broadway shows of the 21st century, and he’s got the help of two otherworldly talents to help enchant Universal’s adaptation. The first is Emmy, Grammy, and Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, a phenomenally gifted young woman whose unusual green skin has made her the subject of scorn. The second is the Grammy-winning, multiple-platinum superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a young woman who has had the opposite experience to Elphaba, a cheery figure whose popularity has been secured by privilege and been super-charged by her ambition.
The trailer gives us a sampling of the ballads “Defying Gravity” and “Popular,” as well as the moment when Elphaba and Glinda cross paths at Shiz University in Oz, where an unlikely but profound friendship will blossom and will take on epic, potentially tragic proportions after a meeting with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). The trailer also boasts flying monkeys (of course), silver slippers, and those yellow bricks. Wicked tells the story of what eventually turns these two young women into Glinda the Good Witch and the Wicked Witch of the West.
The film is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, which is set before Dorothy arrives in Oz and provides a richly realized story that helps restore the Wicked Witch of the West’s humanity in the incredible person of Elphaba. Joining Erivo and Grande are Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar, Ethan Slater as Boq, Bowen Yang as Pfannee.
Check out the trailer below. Wicked will enchant theaters on Thanksgiving.
For more on Wicked, check out these stories:
Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo’s “Wicked” Wows at CinemaCon
First “Wicked” Trailer Finds Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Getting Witchy With It
Michelle Yeoh Will Star in “Wicked” Movies as Madame Morrible
Featured image: L to R: Ariana Granda is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu
