‘Wicked’ teaser trailer gives first look at the fantastical world of Oz

Broadway fans have finally gotten a glimpse of the much-anticipated movie adaptation of the musical “Wicked.”

A teaser trailer of “Wicked: Part One” aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday, giving fans a first look at pop star Ariana Grande playing Glinda and actress and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba, as well as at the movie’s other stars.

The film is directed by Jon M. Chu, who directed 2021’s film adaptation of “In the Heights,” per People. “Wicked,” based on the Tony-award winning Broadway show by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, will be in two parts.

What’s ‘Wicked’ about?

“Wicked,” a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” is based off a 1995 book by Gregory Maguire: “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”

The musical follows Elphaba and Glinda, who meet as roommates at Shiz University. Elphaba, because of her green skin, is a bookish outcast, while Glinda is bubbly and popular. At first, the two witches don’t get along, but soon they become close friends.

“Wicked” not only follows Elphaba and Glinda before the events of “The Wizard of Oz,” but during, showing by now familiar events through the lives and perspectives of the two witches.

The musical — which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, per CBS News — originally starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.

“Wicked” was nominated for 10 Tonys in 2004, as the BBC reported at the time, including best performance by a lead actress in a musical for both Menzel and Chenoweth, which Menzel won.

It also won a Grammy for best musical show album, Playbill reported at the time.

Everything we know about the ‘Wicked’ movie

Of the upcoming movie-musical, Chu said during CinemaCon 2023, per People, “This movie has everything: giant musical numbers, big action pieces. And using a classic story you all know, ‘The Wizard of Oz.’”

As Chu told Vanity Fair, the “Wicked” film — which will tackle the musical in two parts — “is the American fairy tale.”

“We are in a time where we are reassessing the story of life in America,” he continued. “What is truth? What is a happy ending? Is the yellow brick road the road to follow? Is someone really there on the other end who’s going to give you your heart’s desire?”

“Wicked” also explores what Grande called the “selfless love and friendship” between Elphaba and Glinda.

“They’re both each other’s first real friend, a person who accepts them for everything that they are,” Grande told Vanity Fair.

According to Vanity Fair, Erivo hopes that “Wicked” will teach audiences, “We are all different and the same, and the differences that we have actually make us really special.”

“Hopefully we use those differences to introduce ourselves to one another. We aren’t pushing people away because they’re different, but we’re opening up because they’re special.”

Why is the ‘Wicked’ movie adaptation in two parts?

Many fans were surprised when it was announced that the “Wicked” film adaptation would be split into two parts. For reference, the musical has a 2 hour and 45 minute runtime, according to the show’s official website.

As Schwartz told Collider last year, “We ultimately decided to do two movies because we couldn’t get it all crammed into one movie without, we felt, really compromising the story. We thought no one wanted to sit for four hours and see one movie, so it got divided into two movies.”

“Wicked” producer Marc Platt told Vanity Fair, “We didn’t want to end up making one four-hour movie and then cutting out songs. We want to satisfy the fans of the musical. Film allows you to create a place and a time — a university like Shiz, an extraordinary Emerald City governor’s mansion. There’s so much more to explore.”

Who’s in the ‘Wicked’ cast?

“Wicked” boasts a stacked cast, which includes, per IMDb:

• Ariana Grande as Glinda.

• Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.

• Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.

• Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible.

• Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.

• Ethan Slater as Boq.

• Marissa Bode as Nessarose.

• Keala Settle as Miss Coddle.

‘Wicked’ release date

“Wicked: Part One” will be released this Thanksgiving, and then “Wicked: Part Two” will be released Nov. 26, 2025, per People.