Video: WICKED Cast Talk New Version of 'Defying Gravity,' Splitting Movie Into Two Parts, & More

In perhaps the first long-form interview timed to the highly anticipated upcoming film, the stars of Wicked sat down with Fandango to discuss several aspects of the experience on set and what audiences should expect come November.

Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, and director Jon M. Chu highlighted the casting process, shared how they created their own versions of the hit songs, and revealed a few new secrets about the movie.

"The first thing we ever sang together was 'For Good,'" remembered Grande. "It was at Jon's house [and] that's when we discovered that we could do that," Erivo added.

"Stephen Schwartz was at the piano playing for us and it was the first time singing together because we didn't actually do a chemistry test together at all," Grande explained.

Erivo teased her rendition of 'Defying Gravity,' saying that, in this version, the song "grows. There's a couple of added elements to it that you don't get from the stage version. There's a couple of moments of pause and space," she said, hinting that the sequence itself is quite long, which also serves as the conclusion of the first film.

On 'Popular,' Grande said that she has loved the song for her whole life, but living the world of the song allowed her to look at the lines in a whole new way.

"We had a really amazing time and Jon really gave Glinda the space to play and be really silly," she shared, adding that the sequence took a long time to shoot.

Goldblum also highlighted his longtime love of The Wizard of Oz story and his emotional experience attending his sons to the current London production: "I was just sobbing through the whole thing seeing it through their eyes."

Chu touched on the decision to split the movie into two parts, saying that if it had been one film, it would no longer have been recognizable as Wicked because so many crucial aspects would have been cut. Nevertheless, he still wanted to ensure that the first part was a satisfying movie in its own right and worked closely with Erivo to perfect and refine that final sequence. Watch the full interview now!

About WICKED

The Wicked film adaptation stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. Joining them is Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard. 

Marissa Bode will portray Nessarose, Elphaba's younger sister. The cast of characters also includes Pfannee and ShenShen, two conniving compatriots of Glinda played by Emmy nominee Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Bronwyn James (Harlots), and a new character created for the film, Miss Coddle, played by Tony nominee Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman). Aaron Teoh joins as Avaric with Michael Carmichael as Nikidik. Emmy-Winner Peter Dinklage is set to play Dr. Dillamond in the film.

Part One of the film will be released on November 22, 2024, with the second part hitting theaters on November 26, 2025. Pre-save the official soundtrack here. Also, be sure to check out BroadwayWorld's comprehensive guide to the Wicked movie!