Every so often a new movie musical arrives in theaters, bringing a beloved stage production to the screen in the process. Wicked is the next movie of these projects set to be released, and anticipation has been steadily building thanks to the cast led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. A new Wicked trailer just arrived, and it totally sold me on Grande's take on Glinda. Let's break it all down.
What we know about Wicked depends on how much fans know the Broadway musical, but director Jon M. Chu will no doubt have plenty of surprises along the way. The new trailer for the movie can be seen above, and Ariana Grande is truly destroying. Obviously she's hitting the important comedic beats for the character, but the footage of Glinda's more serious side is also touching in this new footage. I am totally sold on her portrayal already.
This entire new trailer is set to "Defying Gravity", offering more of the vocals from both of the movie's stars. We also hear narration by Grande's Glinda, speaking to Ozians about her relationship with Elphaba aka the Wicked Witch of the West.
The first Wicked trailer featured Glinda's reaction to seeing Elphaba's green appearance for the first time, and this new footage offers a different take of Grande saying "you're green!" I have to wonder how much of the footage is being swapped out for the trailers, allowing us to be surprised when seeing these scenes in the theatrical cut.
Previous footage from Wicked showed Grande's pitch perfect take on Glinda, particularly playing her as a young, delightfully vapid woman at Shiz University. We got to hear snippets from "Popular," while this new trailer zeroes in on the deep emotional connection between Glinda and Elphaba. It's this new footage that helps to really show how killer Grande's performance is. We see her zeroed in, crying as she cares for her friend within the Emerald City.
While there's romance and magic and flying monkeys, Wicked is really about Glinda and Elphaba's friendship throughout the years. That's what makes the role Grande is playing so difficult; you don't want to get lost in chewing the scenery and going for the laughs every time. The "We Can't Be Friends" singer is a super fan herself, and looks completely dropped in for more serious scenes.
Obviously you can't ignore Cynthia Erivo's work in this trailer as everyone's favorite green girl. The Tony winning actress' voice is transcendent, and every new clip from "Defying Gravity" is better than the last. We also got to see more of her chemistry with Jonathan Bailey's Fiyero.
Wicked will hit theaters on November 22nd. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates.
