Jeff Goldblum is in final talks to join the cast of the highly anticipated film adaptations of Wicked, with Variety reporting that Goldblum will star as the Wizard in the movie.
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Goldblum joins a cast that’s already incredibly star-studded, with the film set to be headlined by Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
Also set to join the film is Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), who will play Fiyero, and was confirmed earlier this month to join the cast. The Wicked films are currently planned to release on Christmas in 2024 and 2025, with director Jon M. Chu confirming there would be two films instead of one earlier this year.
The upcoming movie adaptation is based on the critically acclaimed Broadway musical, which itself is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on the classic 1900 L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story of two friends, Elphaba and Galinda, who struggle in their friendship throughout a series of events. The story serves as a prequel to Wizard of Oz, but the plot does contain events from after Dorothy’s arrival in Oz as well.
The film adaptation will be produced by Marc Platt through his Universal-based Marc Platt Productions. Senior Executive Vice President of Production, Erik Baiers and Vice President of Production Development Lexi Barta will oversee the project on behalf of Universal Pictures.
The stage musical Wicked has won three Tony awards and is adapted from Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel by book writer Winnie Holzman and three-time Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Holzman and Schwartz are currently collaborating on the screenplay adaptation.
