Universal’s adaptation of the hit musical Wicked has found two powerhouses as its leads: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have been cast as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.

Directed by Crazy Rich Asians and In The Heights‘ Jon M. Chu, Wicked is an alternative take on the Wizard of Oz story, recounting the friendship between the Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba and Galinda, aka Glinda the Good Witch. The musical is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, itself a retelling of the classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and – most famously – the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film starring Judy Garland.

Pop superstar Grande – who boasts two Grammy awards and currently stands as the most streamed female artist – has long expressed her adoration for the stage musical, and was part of the performance line-up for the 2018 television special A Very Wicked Halloween alongside Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth (the original cast of Wicked on Broadway). Funnily enough, Grande at the time performed one of Elphaba’s numbers, “The Wizard and I”.

Erivo, meanwhile, is a Grammy, Daytime Emmy and Tony winner, two-time Oscar nominee, and Emmy nominee for her performance as none other than the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The English actress has long demonstrated her phenomenal singing and acting talents across stage, film, and television. In short, we’d say the film is in excellent hands with these two.

Production on Wicked is set to begin in the summer of 2022, in the UK.

Header image photos by D. B. King and Emma.