Her life has been changed for good! Ariana Grande is set to star as Glinda in the upcoming Wicked musical movie, and her famous friends have a lot to say about it.
In November 2021, the movie’s director Jon M. Chu announced that the “Thank U, Next” songstress would star alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the highly anticipated film adaptation.
“These two witches!!” he shared via Instagram. “The emotional moment I got to tell @cynthiaerivo and @arianagrande that they were our Elphaba and Galinda in the @WickedMovie for @unistudios. Wait until you see what they bring!! It is other worldly. Ahhhhh!!!”
Premiering on Broadway in 2003 with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, Wicked tells the “untold true story of the witches of Oz.” Rumors have been swirling for years about the possibility that the musical would be brought to the big screen. Now, it’s finally coming to life.
Previously, Kristin spoke publicly about her hope that Ariana would join the film’s cast. The Descendants alum has also gushed over her friendship with the “Positions” singer.
“She’s my little nugget. I love her so much,” Kristin told Us Weekly in June 2020, noting that they first met after Ariana and her family saw Wicked. “Her Nana and mom brought her backstage and she goes, ‘I want to be you when I grow up.’ And I was like, you’re so little … she came up to my waist. … And then we stayed in touch.”
Ariana, for her part, reacted to the Wicked casting news in her own Instagram post. “Thank goodness,” she captioned a series of images, once which included a floral bouquet accompanied by a note from her costar Cynthia.
“Pink goes good with green,” the Tony Award winner wrote, per Ariana’s photo. “Congratulations Miss A, the part was made for you. I look forward to sharing this musical journey with you.”
Cynthia also commented, “I love you!! Let’s do this!!” on the Victorious alum’s social media post.
Amid the casting news, fans uncovered a tweet that Ariana had posted in 2011, which read, “Loved seeing Wicked again … amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want to 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole.”
Ariana’s mom, Joan Grande, commented that she was “bursting with pride” about her daughter’s latest role. “Thank goodness,” she added.
Scroll through our gallery to see how Ariana’s famous friends reacted to her Wicked casting news.
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