Lots of fun new stuff for Wicked fans this week! A new poster for the upcoming screen version of the Broadway favorite has dropped—see it below. Plus, Jonathan Bailey, starring in the film as Fiyero, visited The Tony Show With Jimmy Fallon to talk about the Wicked film, attending the Met Gala, and more. Watch above.
In addition to teasing the incoming full-length trailer for Wicked's film adaptation, Bailey announced that he would be the new star of the Jurassic World film franchise. The Olivier winner also stars as the patriarch of the Bridgerton family.
As Bailey and Fallon celebrated his good fortune, they also discussed Bailey's experience at Met Gala, where the pair had almost-met earlier in the month.
"I saw you across the room!" Bailey exclaimed, surprising Fallon. "You were looking at the stage on the right side, and I was on the left. I feel like we were flanking Ari [Ariana Grande, Bailey's Wicked co-star] when she was singing."
As the pair praised Grande's performance, Bailey couldn't help but admit to the fraternal pride he felt watching her at work. "Every time she came towards me, I really wanted to support her, so I was-" Bailey jumps up, showcasing the restricted dance moves he was able to accomplish in his tightly tailored Met Gala outfit. "-but then I'd get really self-conscious! She was unbelievable."
Videos taken secretly from within the gala showed Grande and her Wicked co-star Cynthia Erivo performing together as Bailey and an array of other Wicked film cast members watched on. "To see her and Cynthia together... Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh were there, and we were sitting there like 'Oh my god, we've been so spoiled to see these two amazing talents together! We've seen what they've been doing backstage!'"
Bailey almost became a part of the action the day before, when Grande spilled the beans about the secret performance. "She called me the day before, and said 'I might need you to eat an apple,' and I was like 'I can eat apples! I like apples!' But then that got cut, and then I saw Cynthia, and she was particularly twinkly that night, and I was like 'hang on a minute, something's brewing, something Wicked this way comes."
See the new Wicked poster:
The first film in the two-movie Wicked series is scheduled to hit movie theatres this Thanksgiving. The second part will release Thanksgiving 2025. A new trailer is scheduled to drop May 15, and Playbill will post it as soon as that happens. Fans can also look forward to Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, a behind-the-scenes celebration of Universal Pictures’ upcoming feature film of the international hit musical, airing on NBC November 25 (check local listings).
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked Will Air on NBC This Fall
Along with Bailey, Erivo, Grande, the two-part film will star SpongeBob SquarePants star Ethan Slater as Boq, Emmy winner Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, 2023 Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, and newcomer Marissa Bode as Nessarose, the first wheelchair-using actor in the musical's history to take on the role. Stage and screen star Keala Settle, SNL's Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Aaron Teoh, and Colin Michael Carmichael will play roles new to the musical's screen version, with Settle as Miss Coddle, Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, and Yang, James, and Teoh as Shiz students Pfannee, ShenShen, and Avaric, respectively.
The screen adaptation, which will include new songs by Stephen Schwartz, is helmed by In the Heights screen director Jon M. Chu. Wicked book writer Winnie Holzman has penned the screenplay, and Tony winner Paul Tazewell designed the costumes.
Wicked, injecting a new backstory onto the classic tale The Wizard of Oz, debuted on Broadway in 2003 and continues to be an audience favorite at the Gershwin Theatre. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical features music and lyrics by Schwartz and a book by Holzman. The original cast included Tony winners Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The musical has subsequently been performed in more than 100 cities across 16 countries and is now the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history.
The show won 2004 Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Best Costume Design (Susan Hilferty), and Best Scenic Design (Eugene Lee).
