By Janvi Acharya
The well-known hit Broadway musical “Wicked” is being adapted to film with Ariana Grande as the lead. Grande is playing Galinda, the Good Witch, and is co-starring with Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch. The film is directed by John M. Chu, whose credits include “Crazy Rich Asians” and the film adaptation of the musical “In the Heights.” The film will be broken into two movies, with the first one set to release in November 2024.
Source by Lindsay Kim
Fans of Grande eagerly await the film's release.
The film will follow a unique backstory of the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” leading viewers through Galinda’s and Elphaba’s time as pupils at Shiz University and Elphaba’s transformation into the Wicked Witch.
To prepare for her new role, Ariana Grande has taken a break from the usual songwriting in her career. To fully embrace her inner Galinda, she dyed her hair blonde and changed her profile picture on social media to the Good Witch’s famous pink bubble. Lately, she has been keeping her fans updated on the film process by posting song content from the movie. She also posted behind-the-scenes pictures of her and the cast. A video from Entertainment Weekly showed raw footage of Grande in her pink tulle Galinda outfit, complete with a wand, tiara and blonde hair. The video includes her singing lyrics from the song "No One Mourns the Wicked,” a popular track from the original musical, and hitting her famous high notes.
“I think Ariana Grande is a good singer and everything. She’ll be able to bring the musical aspect into it, especially since she can hit the high notes; it will hit the audience differently,” freshman Hannah Vithayathil said.
Many believe that Ariana Grande will be successful in her new acting role, due to her previous acting experiences on the popular Nickelodeon shows “Victorious” and “Sam & Cat.” In addition, she has experience performing in Broadway musicals such as “13: The Musical.”
“I think Ariana Grande will play an excellent role as the witch because I grew up watching her being an actress before being exposed to her as a singer. She’s a really good actress, especially playing Cat Valentine,” sophomore Serina John said.
However, some Gladiators are unsure of the casting of Galinda and feel as if another actress would have been better suited for the role.
“I personally would’ve loved to see another actress playing Galinda. Especially someone who isn’t as famous as Ariana Grande. I think they should’ve casted someone who has little experience in acting and is new to the industry. This way, they could give someone else the opportunity to play the role and gain experience from it rather than fill it with someone who is already famous,” sophomore Bridget Vahldieck said.
“I hope she’s good. She has been in ‘Victorious’ and she was a very nice actress. While this is a drama rather than comedy, it’s a slightly different role. So I don’t really know what to expect,” sophomore Nicole Cefaloni said.
While people have differing opinions on Ariana Grande, many believe that she will do great in her new role. Viewers are excited for this new movie to hit theaters in November 2024.