Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo join Universal's musical adaptation of Wicked

Actor Cynthia Erivo and singer Ariana Grande will star in the upcoming musical feature adaptation of Wicked.

The news was announced by the stars on their Instagram handles. "Dear Cynthia, honoured doesn't even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz," wrote Grande. "Pink goes good with green," Erivo wrote.

Universal Pictures' on-screen adaptation comes from screenwriter Winnie Holsman and composer Schwarz.

Set to be directed by Jon M Chu, the film is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and will tell the story of events leading up to Dorothy's arrival in Oz. Grande and Erivo are set to portray Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in the film. In the Broadway original, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth portrayed frenemies Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch. 

Wicked, based on the Stephen Schwartz musical, is an alternative re-telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L Frank Baum's classic 1900 story of the same name, told from the perspective of the witches.

The musical was initially scheduled to open in theatres on December 22, 2021, but was removed from the calendar due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Marc Platt, the producer of the Broadway musical, will also produce the film.