Wicked movie cast and first look photos

Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked

Wicked’s long-awaited film adaptation is finally on its way – here’s a rundown of who’s making up the cast!

A big screen version of the hit musical is currently due to be released as two movies with the first in cinemas from November 2024.

Based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, Wicked reveals the ‘true untold story’ behind the Wizard Of Oz and just what happened before Dorothy dropped in. With songs by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, the musical will celebrate 20 years on Broadway in 2023 while the London production has been open since 2006.

Wicked movie cast

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba

West End and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo will take the lead role of Elphaba Thropp aka the Wicked Witch of the West.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Wicked
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba

 

Ariana Grande as Glinda

Popstar Ariana Grande, who rose to fame on Broadway, stars as Glinda Upland.

Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked
Ariana Grande as Glinda

 

Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard Of Oz

Jeff Goldblum will take on the role of the iconic Wizard Of Oz.

Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard Of Oz
Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard Of Oz

 

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero

Olivier Award Jonathan Bailey will play Fiyero, love interest of both Elphaba and Glinda.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero
Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero

 

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

Michelle Yeoh will star as Madame Morrible, headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University.

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible in the Wicked Movie
Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

 

Ethan Slater as Boq

Star of Spongebob The Musical, Ethan Slater will star as Boq, a Munchkinlander who is infatuated with Glinda.

 

Further casting

Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James will play Pfannee and ShenShen respectively, two of Glinda’s friends.

Also confirmed for the cast of the movie are Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Aaron Teoh as Avaric and Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik

Release date

Director Jon M. Chu recently announced that the film adaptation will be split into two separate movies.

The first part is due for release in cinemas on 27 November 2024 with the second following a year later in December 2025.

Chu explained in a post for social media: “Here’s what happened: 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!!!! 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.”

Alongside its West End run, for now you can catch Wicked on its new UK tour

About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.