The Wicked movie has finally arrived in cinemas ✨

Following the news that Ariana Grande would be starring in the long-awaited movie musical Wicked alongside Cynthia Erivo, fans have been keen for any dribs and drabs of information they can get on the film. Following the first official trailer which dropped in May, we've now been gifted with the magical film as it finally arrives in UK cinemas!

With the Wicked movie being split into two parts, the excitement for the films is through the roof - with two release dates being confirmed, and an ever-expanding star-studded cast list. Find out everything you need to know - including the big question on everyone's lips... Will Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel be returning in some capacity?!

Here's everything we know so far...

When will the Wicked movies be released?

Part One

Part one of Wicked is out now in UK cinemas.

Taking to social media on 1st July 2024, the official Wicked movie accounts revealed the release date would now be 22nd November 2024, after being changed in March 2024. The new date is five weeks earlier than the release date that was announced initially, and has left fans very excited.

One fan commented: 'i am soooooo happy and excited, let me cry right in my corner', (sic) with another saying: 'OMG WE GET TO WATCH THIS MOVIE SO MUCH SOONER YESSSS'. (sic)

This latest announcement comes after both director Jon M. Chu and Ariana took to their socials to share the first revised date in March 2024, with a brand new logo. At the time they revealed Part One would be released on 27th November 2024 - which is around Thanksgiving in the United States.

Sharing the new date on Twitter, director Jon M. Chu wrote: 'WICKED NEWS: We are deep into production on WICKED and everyday we get more and more excited to share with u the mischief we’ve been up to. So…We’ve decided to get it to you all a little earlier than planned. OUR NEW RELEASE Date is NOV 27th 2024! A little Thanksgiving treat!'

Part Two

Part Two of the Wicked movie was initially set for release over the festive period in December 2025, however on 20th June 2023 director Jon shared the exciting news that this had been brought forward a month, with a current release date of 26th November 2025.

Despite Jon accidentally making a typo in his original announcement tweet, he cleared things up by writing: 'It’s not a year delay. I wrote the wrong years 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️I meant part one 2024, part two 2025 . I’m an idiot. Also I’m in the middle of shooting so I was typing too fast 💚💚💚🌈🫧🫧🫧🪓'.

Further clarity came in the form of a post on the film's official Instagram page.

Wicked movie trailers

After releasing a brand new movie poster on 14th May, it was teased that we had a new trailer coming our way - and it's safe to say it did not disappoint. Featuring Ariana and Cynthia, we spot other starring actors such as Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum. Check out the first official Wicked trailer below.

On 5th September, the second official trailer for the film was also released.

WATCH: 2nd official Wicked movie trailer 2024

WATCH: Official Wicked movie trailer 2024

Captioning the trailer: 'Everyone deserves the chance to fly. Watch the #WickedMovie trailer now. 🧹🫧' (sic), the official trailer also offers a snippet of Ariana Grande singing the famous 'Popular' track from the famous musical.

It's clear that fans can't contain their excitement, with one taking so Instagram to write: 'YOU MADE OUR DREAMS COME TRUE AND WE COULDN’T BE HAPPIER!!!!' (sic), and another exclaiming: 'i’m shaking oh my god i can’t stop crying'. (sic)

Another elated fan gushed: 'Couldn’t be happier with this cast 🥹💚💖', with another adding: 'the fact we get to see this universe on the big screen in our lifetime 💚💖🥹 forever thankful to this cast & crew 🫶🏻'. (sic)

WATCH: Wicked 2024 first look trailer

February saw bosses over at Universal Pictures gift us with an INCREDIBLE first look trailer to wet our whistles, ahead of the film coming out later this year. The minute-long tease offered us our first proper glimpse of the stars in action - watch the magic unfold below:

The stunning trailer shows Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande starring as Elphaba and Glinda respectively, while we also get a glimpse of Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero and even Jeff Goldblum's magnificent Wizard.

There's even a haunting reworking of the film's signature song, 'Defying Gravity', playing underneath to set your arm hairs on end even more.

And it's safe to say that the trailer has met with fans' approval, with many taking to their social media pages with joyous comments. One wrote: 'This is the exact quality I was expecting and Jon Chu did NOT disappoint!' while another added: 'The soundtrack will be beyond this world!'

Wicked movie poster

On 14th May 2024, Universal released a brand new official poster for the upcoming film. The stunning shot features both Ariana and Cynthia, merging stunning shades of pink and green to represent both of the characters.

Captioned: 'Pink goes good with green.', the production company also teased that a new trailer would be released the following day.

Latest cast announcement

The latest name revealed from the cast list is none other than Kerry Ellis - the first British performer to ever play the role of Elphaba on stage. News of her involvement in the upcoming film broke when she responded to director Jon M Chu’s wrap post: 'Very exciting xx thank you again for having us be part of this x'. (sic)

Kerry's role in Wicked is not currently known, although fans are excited to see her feature in the upcoming film.

Prior to Kerry, another cast member announced was Adam James, who will be appearing as Glinda's father - a role which did not appear on stage. Adam appeared in You season four, as well as Vigil and Doctor Foster, as well as notable credits such as King Charles III at the Almeida, in the West End and on Broadway, and the West End transfer of Girl from the North Country.

First look at Ariana and Cynthia in the Wicked movie:

In April 2023, bosses upped the ante as they began teasing imagery from the film. The film's official Instagram released some first look images from the upcoming movies, giving us a glimpse of Ariana and co-lead Cynthia Erivo as Glinda and Elphaba for the first time. At the time, bosses shared two separate images - however, these have sadly now been removed from Instagram.

Captioning the image of Ariana as Glinda with a simple '💖', Cynthia's post - showing her as Elphaba - was appropriately captioned with the contrasting emoji: '💚'.

Of course, fans could barely contain their excitement at the tease, with one writing: 'GALINDA GRANDE!!!! 🫧💙💕💕💕', another saying: 'We will be WATCHING' and third commenting: 'best movie of 2024 incoming'. (sic)

With director Jon M. Chu also sharing the two images to his own Instagram, he wrote: 'You weren’t told the whole story. What happens when you veer off the Yellow Brick Road? FIRST LOOK of the #WickedMovie … currently in production in Oz. 🌪️🫧🧹@WickedMovie @UniversalPics #2024'.

The first look photos came just weeks after Ariana warmed our hearts as she shared some pics alongside her co-stars. She posted two Instagram Stories tagging Michelle Yeoh, who plays the role of Madame Morrible, saying 'we love you so much @michellyeoh_official it hurts'.

The second Story shows Ariana along with Michelle and fellow co-star Cynthia, as the trio struck a sweet pose.

Will there be a movie soundtrack?

It was announced in October 2024 that ‘Wicked: The Soundtrack’ will be released via Republic Records / Verve Records on 22nd November, to coincide with the film’s arrival in cinemas. Available for pre-order now – as a CD, double vinyl, double picture disc and digitally – the soundtrack will include the iconic songs ‘Defying Gravity’, ‘Popular’, ‘Dancing Through Life’ and ‘The Wizard And I’.

With music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, 'Wicked: The Soundtrack' includes songs performed by global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda and Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. In addition, it will feature the musical talents of Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible; Olivier Award winner Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers) as Fiyero and pop culture icon Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz.

Wicked: The Soundtrack:

1. No One Mourns the Wicked

2. Dear Old Shiz

3. The Wizard And I

4. What Is This Feeling?

5. Something Bad

6. Dancing Through Life

7. Popular

8. I’m Not That Girl

9. One Short Day

10. A Sentimental Man

11. Defying Gravity

Who wrote the music?

The music and lyrics of Wicked were written by Stephen Schwatrz, other notable musicals by Stephen include Godspell, Pippin and The Prince of Egypt.

Have they released any footage yet?

The first trailer was released in February 2024, giving us a whole host of footage from the film to consume! Prior to this, fans were treated to the first screening of rough footage from the films during CinemaCon in April 2023.

According to attendees, footage showed Ariana Grande's Glinda flying in her bubble, Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba flying on her broom stick, and being given her famous black hat, and Jeff Goldblum's charismatic Wizard.

On top of that, they saw snippets of Ariana and Cynthia singing film classics 'Defying Gravity' and 'Popular', as well as white-haired Michelle Yeoh, as Madame Morrible, trying to teach Cynthia's Elphaba to harness her witchy powers.

Earlier this year, the film director revealed that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo insisted on using live vocals for their scenes, as opposed to pre-recorded tracks.

According to reports, a large portion of the footage focussed on Elphaba and Glinda's relationship. Classic lines such as "Pink goes good with green", "You really don't have to do that," and "I know. That's what makes me so nice," were also featured.

A second trailer was released in May 2024, which you can watch above.

Will the film involve CGI?

With the films plunging us into the magical Land of Oz, fans were surprised to hear from director Jon M Chu that the upcoming movies will NOT be using CGI or blue-screen.

That's right, instead the film will be using real, large-scale sets to bring the magic to the big screen.

Behind-the-scenes photos and videos

May 2024 saw the release of some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the upcoming films, featuring interviews with the starring cast members discussing filming, and their connection and bond with the Broadway musical.

Fans can see footage of stars such as Ariana and Cynthia on set, as well as touching footage of Ariana in an old interview discussing her dream of playing Glinda one day. On top of that, we even catch a glimpse of Ari and Cynthia's auditions for their roles, as well as director Jon discuss his decision to cast the stars, and his passion for the project.

WATCH: Wicked 'Passion Project' behind-the-scenes:

In March 2023, Ariana and Cynthia took to Instagram to share a sweet joint post showing the pair holding hands. It is thought that the pic was snapped back-the-scenes of production for the film.

Fans and other celebrities have been quick to leave excited comments on the post, with one writing: '🥹🥹🥹😍 I love this duo', and another saying: 'The cuuuuutest witches in all of Oz 🥹✨'. (sic)

Another wrote: 'ive literally can’t think of anything to say other than how much i just adore this duo 🥹😭'. (sic)

London's St Pancras station Christmas tree

On 5th November 2024, Universal Pictures unveiled a massive Emerald City Christmas tree at London's St Pancras station. The huge green structure was built as a clever marketing tool for the upcoming movie — and comes complete with a yellow brick road and windows to peek inside to see a mini version of the city.

The tree also has a seating area inside, where you can sit and listen to the movie soundtrack. Unsurprisingly, Londoners (and tourists) immediately flocked to grab pics and videos with the tree!

What were the original release dates?

In a statement released by Jon and shared by Ariana, it was previously confirmed that the films would be released over the successive festive periods of 2024 and 2025. Initially, the first Wicked film was going to be released on 25th December 2024, with the second film in December 2025. This has now been brought forward a month for both films, however there's still a bit of a wait left until we see Elphaba and Glinda on the big screen in Part One.

In an Instagram post, the statement read: ‘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.'

It continued: '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.

‘Cynthia, Ariana, and I - and all of the cast and crew - pledge to create nothing less than an experience that honors its foundation for all the fans who've waited for this movie, and to offer a thrilling, fantastical world full of dynamic characters that invites in those who are unfamiliar.’(sic)

Was production affected by the actors' strike?

As widely reported, in May 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, which represents 11,500 screenwriters. Paired with the writers' strike of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), as part of a larger Hollywood labour complaint, this fuelled the largest interruption to both TV and film production in the US since the Coronavirus pandemic.

With the WGA strike coming to an end in September 2023, and the SAG-AFTRA strike ending two months later in November, filming for the Wicked movie was paused, as many members of the cast were unable to work due to being bound by SAG-AFTRA contracts.

An exception, however, was none other than Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey, whose UK-based Equity contract saw him live out a rather surreal experience on set - a hint, it involves wigs...

With co-stars such as Ariana and Cynthia out of action, Jonathan was one of few on set, but ploughed through to complete some of his shots as Fiyero.

Speaking to SiriusXFM’s Andy Cohen, Jonathan revealed: "I think we had 10 days left filming before the strike hit. I was the only actor who was on an Equity contract, so I had these four days where I came up and acted with people in wigs, who were pretending to be (the other characters)."

Jonathan spilled the surprising information in November 2023, also revealing that he has more scenes left to film, which he is "so glad" for, describing it as the "most extraordinary thing". He also teased that he has a duet with Ariana in the upcoming film, as well as a song with Cynthia.

What is Wicked about?

Wicked is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and tells us the story of the relationship between Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba) from The Wizard of Oz before Dorothy landed.

In this story we see how the pair meet at school, eventually become friends and the rift that grows when the pair share a love interest and have separate responses to the Wizard's corrupt government - which leads to Elphaba being branded as the Wicked Witch.

Who is directing?

The film is being directed by Jon M. Chu who is best known for directing the film Crazy Rich Asians. However, this won't be his first musical as he has already directed the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, so we know Wicked is in safe hands.

Wicked movie: Cast

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will lead the film adaptation which has been in the works at Universal studios since 2004.

Jon M. Chu shared the news on Twitter back in November 2021: 'Goooood Newwwws!!! The incredible #CynthiaErivo and @ArianaGrande will be our Elphaba and Galinda in @WickedMovie @UniversalPics Get ready for a match up like you’ve never seen!!! In pink and green!!!' (sic)

Cynthia Erivo will play Elphaba, the misunderstood 'Wicked Witch of the West', Cynthia won a Grammy and a Tony Award for her role as Celie in the Broadway transfer of the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of The Color Purple. She also received two Oscar nominations for the film Harriet and an Emmy nomination for her role as Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha.

Michelle Yeoh will also be appearing in the film, portraying the role of Madame Morrible, as well as Adam James, who will be playing Glinda's father. The role of Glinda's father is new for the upcoming film, with the character not appearing on stage. Also joining them is Jonathan Bailey, famed for his leading role in Netflix's Bridgerton.

While on the red carpet for the Pinocchio film premiere in September 2022, Cynthia opened up about working with Ariana on Wicked, saying: "She is funny and unbelievably talented and unbelievably sweet and truly working hard."

The moment was shared on Twitter by Variety who interviewed the film star.

Before Ariana Grande was the international pop star we know today, she appeared on Nickelodeon shows Victorious and Sam & Cat and she actually started her career in the Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown's 13 the musical.

Will Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel be in it?

In April 2023, news of new cast members wasn't the only thing getting us talking - with a potential Kristin Chenoweth cameo getting fans VERY excited!

As fans of the musical will know, Kristin Chenoweth starred as Glinda the Good Witch in the original Broadway production of Wicked, from 2003, alongside Idina Menzel as Elphaba. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, she addressed rumours that she might be making a cameo appearance in the upcoming movie adaptation.

Not giving too much away, Kristin simply stated that she "cannot confirm or deny" any involvement in the new film, which will see Ariana step into her shoes and play the role of Glinda.

In what may appear as a glimmer of hope, she continued: "I really...I really cannot. I'm waiting and we'll see." 👀

The actress also expressed her support for Cynthia and Ariana, as the 'Thank U, Next' singer steps "so beautifully into my shoes". She said: "I'm going to get to watch two women I know soar", before continuing: "I'm so excited for her, she's gonna put her own stamp on it."

In the cast of Idina Menzel, there has been no word on her involvement or a potential cameo... So far.

Who is writing the screenplay?

Stephen Schwartz is set to work alongside Winnie Holzman - who wrote the musical's book - on the film's screenplay. Mark Platt who produced the musical is also set to produce the film version.

Take a look at Ariana Grande's career so far:

Now read:

Ariana Grande lands role in Wicked Movie alongside Cynthia Erivio

All the things you ever needed to know about Ariana Grande 🎶 💕

Ariana Grande's rise to fame: From school plays to Platinum albums

Want more entertainment news?

Read more of the latest entertainment news here.

• wicked
• Ariana Grande