‘Wicked’ Lights Up CinemaCon with Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Director Jon M. Chu

One year after debuting the first look of Wicked at CinemaCon, Universal Pictures brought members of the magical crew to Las Vegas on Wednesday to light up the festivities once again, with the team including filmmaker Jon M. Chu and his leading ladies, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who had the honor of introducing exclusive footage for theater owners.

It was an emotional presentation for the Wicked team as Chu was moved to tears as he recounted finding the two performers to topline the film, and later Grande also got choked up as well.

The electric presentation — which featured on stage remarks from cast members such as Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Chu and producer Marc Platt — was telegraphed from the start as Colosseum staffers handed out Wicked lanyards to attendees when they walked into the theater. Other staffers instructed guests to be careful with tulips placed in the cupholder of each seat until they were asked to.

Universal chief Donna Langley had the “privilege” of introducing Wicked team in a segment that showed how much faith the studio has in the film as they devoted 30 minutes of the two-hour presentation to the musical. “You all got a taste of this stunning film at last year’s CinemaCon,” said Langley. “And the world has loved this musical and celebrated it for more than 20 years. It’s proof that our future is unlimited — if that will give you a little bit of a tease. Thank you all for being here today. The wizard will see you now.”

The theater then went dark and those lanyards lit up as did the tulips in shades of pink and green, going from flashing to bright in a stunning display. The screen then featured an oversized Oz, who delivered a custom voiceover for CinemaCon. “Who are you and why do you seek me? Behold CinemaConians,” Oz said. “A spectacle awaits that will glorify your palaces of light and sound this holiday season. … Remember there’s no place like Oz. There’s no place like Oz.”

The wizard then appeared in actor form as Goldblum delivered an Oz-tastic opener for the team by being the first to come to the stage after Langley. He said that after a decades-long (or “longish”) career that has been him chased by dinosaurs and turned into a fly, he’s “never been a part of the magic that is this movie,” he said. He then corrected himself to say “movies” as the pics were filmed concurrently. He praised the creative team that constructed the set, created the props and delivering the magical world. “This whole experience has been, to me, in a word dreamy.”

Chu and Platt then came out on stage with the latter saying that his own journey with the material began 25 years ago when he first read Gregory Maguire’s book, which he first envisioned as a film. But at the urging of composer collaborator Stephen Schwartz, it was conceived first as a stage musical. The rest is history.

Chu then described himself as “a Silicon Valley” kid who “in a stroke of luck that now seems like destiny,” he happened to be in San Francisco at the time the musical was workshopped. “It imprinted itself on me permanently.” He said he related to the story of Elphaba, someone “who was judged for the way she looks.” It became a dream job when he was hired to direct it for the screen.

“We dreamed very, very, very big for Wicked,” Chu continued as they wanted to honor the source material but they worked with a goal of creating a new theatrical world of its own. “A magical land of sights and sounds that will astonish and performances that will lift your spirits and occasionally break your heart.”

Platt was tasked with discussing the casting process, which went on for months. “These characters are so aspirational for young people and mean so much to so many people, and we knew we had to get it exactly right,” Platt said. “We saw so many hopeful women from every corner of the world.” But when they met Grande and Erivo, they “claimed each of their roles. When we finally saw them, we knew that we landed on the right pairing. Two strong young women who were destined to play these roles.”  

Erivo and Grande then came to the stage to rousing applause from the crowd, dressed in nods to their characters with Grande in an Oscar de la Renta flower dress with shades of pink while Erivo was decked out in Versace, wearing a green top, silver skirt and thigh high boots. Though they didn’t sing, Erivo noted that it was the first time that either of them have spoken publicly about Wicked. “This whole experience is absolutely impossible to put into words,” Grande added. She detailed her winding road to Wicked that started when she first saw the Broadway show at age 10. In that instant that she knew playing Glinda was her dream role.

Erivo came to it later in life, at age 25, when she took herself on a solo date to see the show. “We have performed these songs publicly and privately and now here we are playing Elphaba and Glinda, two roles that have been so pivotal in our lives.”

Grande, who edited the stage direction and moved closer to Erivo so they could hold hands, then traded iconic Wicked lines with Erivo saying that they have been changed for good by the experience. “We both felt such a tremendous responsibility to honor these women and to pour our hearts, our souls, our tears — so many different pairs of lashes.” Erivo added: “You and I are bonded for life.”

Erivo stars as Elphaba to Grande’s Glinda opposite Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Bridgerton star Bailey as love interest Fiyero, Goldblum as the Wizard, Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Bronwyn James as ShenShen and Adam James as Glinda’s father. During today’s presentation, it was announced that Peter Dinklage has taken on the role of Dr. Dillamond.

The story unspools as Elphaba and Glinda meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. Glinda’s desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, has unexpected consequences on her future. Their paths set them off to fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

The sparkling footage, shown only to CinemaCon attendees, shows Elphaba’s arrival at Shiv University and the early interactions she was with Glinda as its revealed that they are to be roommates. Glinda offers a not-so-warm welcome to her new roommate by offering her a tiny space to sleep behind a clothing rack stuffed full with pink frocks. At one point, Glinda is also seen dangling from a chandelier and plotting to offer Elphaba the iconic black hat that she says she wouldn’t offer to anyone because there’s no one she dislikes that much. However, at the university dance, she offers it to Elphaba and it appears the frosty friendship cracks in the scene when Elphaba brushes off what other students think of her. The pair then set off once Elphaba is summoned to meet the Wizard in the Emerald City.

The adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical ⁠(both are based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire) has been in the works for years, with veteran film and stage producer Marc Platt producing alongside David Stone. Winnie Holzman wrote the script as well as the book for Broadway.

Platt and Stone also shepherded the original Broadway production, which debuted on the Great White Way 20 years ago, on Oct. 8, 2003. It went on to become a certified cultural phenomenon that launched national and international productions and has become the No. 2 highest-grossing Broadway show of all time, after The Lion King.

In crafting the big screen world based on the Broadway musical, Chu has said that he wanted the Technicolor world to feel as real as possible. “I knew what this movie could be. What does it feel like to be in Oz? Be in the dirt? Feel it in your fingertips,” asked Chu in a sizzle reel shown last year at CinemaCon, noting the project will do things that can’t be done on the Broadway stage. He said at the time that the team planted real flowers to cover Oz, rather than use CG, as he wanted Oz to feel like a real place. He later said that Grande and Erivo recorded their vocals live while cameras were rolling.

Wicked hits theaters in time for Thanksgiving on Nov. 27. A sequel, Wicked Part Two, is set to be released on Nov. 26, 2025.