Watch: Ariana Grande seen on set of ‘Wicked’ movie for first time

Ariana Grande as Glinda on the set of Wicked. Picture /Bav Media/Splash News/Media Mode

It’s been a long time coming for Wicked fans, but we’ve finally been given a look inside production of the movie version of the hugely successful Broadway musical.

First photos have emerged of the elaborate ‘Oz’ set in Buckinghamshire, UK, which showed US pop star Ariana Grande in character as Glinda the Good Witch.

In what marks Grande’s second feature film credit (her first was Netflix’s Don’t Look Up), and her first ever lead role on the big screen, the 29-year-old Positions singer could be seen wearing Glinda’s iconic pink sparkling gown as she filmed the movie’s opening scene.

The chart-topping star could also be seen wearing a glitzy crown, brandishing a sceptre as she rode on-board a carriage and greeted the people of Oz.

Grande, who got her big break on Nickelodeon’s Victorious series in 2010 before transitioning to music, was cast in the Universal Pictures film in November 2021, alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.

Ariana Grande sings as Glinda on the set of #Wicked. 💗 pic.twitter.com/EOXBdJsccs

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) April 18, 2023

Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey also appears in the cast, playing Fiyero Tigelaar, while Jeff Goldblum will play The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Michelle Yeoh will play Madame Morrible.

Wicked is directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), with the screen adaptation by Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz.

Plans for Wicked to get the cinema treatment have been going on for years, with multiple setbacks since it was first announced in 2017.

It was put on hold in 2018 due to production scheduling, and then again in 2020 amid the Covid pandemic.

After locking in key cast in late 2021, filming was supposed to start in mid-2022, before further delays ensued when Chu decided the movie should be split into two parts.

“As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” he wrote on Twitter.

“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.

“We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie, but two! With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”

Principal filming officially began in December last year.

Wicked: Part One will be released in November 2024, while Part Two will be released a year later.