Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo to star in ‘Wicked’ movie
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By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are going to be a wicked combination.
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years Here are some memorable photos of actress and singer Ariana Grande through the years. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2008: Actress Ariana Grande from "13: A New Musical" visits Planet Hollywood Times Square on October 30, 2008, in New York City. (Joe Corrigan/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2009: Actress Ariana Grande arrives at Variety's third annual Power of Youth event held at Paramount Studios on December 5, 2009, in Los Angeles. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2010: Ariana Grande arrives at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios on June 6, 2010, in Universal City, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2011: Actress Ariana Grande arrives at the 2011 VH1 Do Something Awards at the Hollywood Palladium on August 14, 2011, in Hollywood, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2012: Actress Ariana Grande arrives at the premiere of Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 12, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2013: Singer Ariana Grande performs onstage during the 2013 American Music Awards at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 24, 2013, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2014: Recording artist Ariana Grande (center) performs with dancers during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2015: Ariana Grande performs onstage at Madison Square Garden on March 20, 2015, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2016: Ariana Grande Performs During ABC's "Good Morning America's" 2016 Summer Concert Series at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on May 20, 2016, in New York City. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2017: In this handout provided by the "One Love Manchester" benefit concert, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus perform on stage on June 4, 2017, in Manchester, England. (Getty Images/Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2018: Ariana Grande attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2018: Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande attend the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 20, 2018, in New York City. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for MTV)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2019: Ariana Grande performs on Coachella Stage during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 14, 2019, in Indio, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for AG)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2020: Ariana Grande attends the 62nd annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Photos: Ariana Grande through the years 2021: Blake Shelton and Ariana Grande appear on an episode of "The Voice." (Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Grande and Erivo will be playing the main roles in Universal’s musical adaptation of “Wicked,” Variety reported Thursday.
Grande will portray Glinda the Good Witch, while Erivo will play Elphaba, who is destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West, the website reported.
Grande and Erivo announced their upcoming roles in separate Instagram posts on Thursday.
A “Wicked” film has been in the planning stages at Universal since 2004, a year after it debuted on Broadway, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The play generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales, one of just three shows to do so, according to the website.
“Wicked” is an adaptation of the 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”by Gregory Maguire, which tells of the friendship of Glinda and Elphaba before Dorothy lands in Oz. The tale is told from the perspective of the two witches, Billboard reported. Maguire’s book is a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for “Wicked,” and Winnie Holzman wrote the book for the play, according to The Hollywood Reporter.