Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Give a Magical Peek at Oz in “Wicked: Part One” Footage at CinemaCon

Erivo and Grande offered glimpses of the stage-to-screen movie musical at CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are flying audiences — by broomstick and by bubble — to Oz.

The big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked was among the titles presented by distributor Universal Pictures at CinemaCon 2024. Erivo, 37, and Grande, 30, who play "Wicked Witch" Elphaba and "Good Witch" Glinda, took the stage at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace on April 10 to present a flashy preview of the movie’s first installment.

Joining them were Jeff Goldblum (who plays the Wizard), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), producer Marc Platt and director Jon M. Chu. Wicked will be a two-part adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Tony-winning Broadway musical. Part One is set to be released on Nov. 27, while Part Two then arrives on Nov. 26, 2025.

"I related to the story of Elphaba, the witch who was judged on how she looks," Chu, 44, told the crowd. The In the Heights director called helming Wicked "a dream job."

Related: Wicked Costars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Present Together at Oscars 2024

Introducing Erivo and Grande, whom he called "two very gifted, strong young women who were destined to play these roles," Chu became visibly emotional. “Sorry," he said, choked up. "It’s been a long journey."

Erivo and Grande, hand in hand, also reflected on their introduction to the musical. "When I was 10 years old, I saw Wicked on Broadway for the first time," said Grande. "I remember it so clearly because that was the instant that I knew I really wanted to play Glinda one day. It became my dream role."

"I was 25 and it was my birthday," recalled Erivo. "I took myself to see [the musical] on a date by myself. But I could never have fathomed even getting the chance to actually play the iconic Wicked Witch."

Yeoh, meanwhile, admitted that singing in her first movie musical was “terrifying,” poking fun at Chu, who was also her director on Crazy Rich Asians. “Why is it that you seem to cast me in roles that are in some ways… me?”

While the dashing Fiyero, said Bailey, “has facets” and “evolves,” he acknowledged the character is “a little self-involved. But it's liberating to play someone who's blissfully ignorant of their privilege and very aware of his own charm. I loved every minute of it.”

A prequel to the events in The Wizard of Oz, Wicked (based on Gregory Maguire’s hit 1995 novel) is the origin story of “a green-skinned woman,” the film’s logline states, who “becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.” Also in the cast are Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle and Ethan Slater as Boq.

It was also revealed at the CinemaCon presentation that Peter Dinklage will be the voice behind Dr. Dillamond. As a press release indicates, the character is a goat and university professor “who warns Elphaba about rising dark forces that threaten the speaking animals of Oz, including himself.”

Related: Michelle Yeoh Says Making Her First Musical 'Wicked' Is a 'Risk': 'Trying Something New'

Dinklage could be heard, and his goat character glimpsed, in an extended sneak peek of Part One. The CinemaCon audience heard snippets of Grande singing Glinda's "Popular" and she and Erivo vocalizing together on "Defying Gravity."

Chu was also on hand at last year’s CinemaCon to tease Oz fans with initial glimpses of Wicked. A first trailer released during the 2024 Super Bowl in February coincided with Erivo and Grande’s appearance at the big game — wearing custom sequin Louis Vuitton football jerseys in green and pink, featuring the names of their characters.

The musical’s original Broadway cast was led by Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. Menzel earned one of the hit production’s three Tony Awards, for leading actress in a musical.

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During filming in 2022, Erivo told Entertainment Tonight that the films would be “unlike anything you've ever seen before."

The Harriet Oscar nominee continued, "I think we're going to enjoy the magic of it. We're going to try and put our own spin on what we know already and show you a story about two women [who] are sisters."

Wicked: Part One is in theaters Nov. 27. Part Two follows on Nov. 26, 2025.

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