Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo were not director’s first choice for ‘Wicked’

In a recent interview, Wicked director Jon M. Chu revealed that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were not his first choice for the lead roles in the movie adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical. Initially, he wanted to cast newcomers but ended up selecting Grande and Erivo after seeing their auditions. The two actresses were meant for the roles at this particular time. They will be playing the iconic characters of Elphaba and Glinda, originally made famous by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway. The star-studded cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Keala Settle, Ethan Slater, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Yeoh.