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May 15 (UPI) -- Universal Pictures is teasing the new film Wicked. The studio shared a first official trailer for the movie Wednesday featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
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Wicked is a musical fantasy film based on the Broadway musical and Gregory Maguire novel, which are inspired by L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The new movie tells the origin story of the witches of Oz: Elphaba (Erivo), the future Wicked Witch of the West, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Glinda, the future Glinda the Good, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
The trailer shows Glinda and Elphaba meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Erivo and Grande can be heard singing "Popular" and "Defying Gravity," two songs from the Wicked musical.
"Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future," an official synopsis reads.
The cast also includes Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University headmistress Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.
Wicked is written by Winnie Holzman and directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians).
The film will be split into two parts, with Part One to open in theaters Nov. 27 and Part Two to follow Nov. 27, 2025.
