There's a ton of big budget live-action musicals headed down the pipeline in coming years, most of which are coming from Disney. The House of Mouse is remaking their classic animated blockbusters, but there are also some beloved Broadway musicals hitting the silver screen. Case in point: the upcoming Wicked movie, which will adapt the massively popular stage musical for film. The original Broadway cast included the great Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as the two witches of Oz, but could they take on new roles in the film version? Kristin Chenoweth was recently asked if she'd consider playing supporting role Madame Morrible, and she responded, saying:
I would love that, actually. That would be cool.
Well, it looks like the OG Glinda is willing to pass the wand to another actress, and explore a different role in the Wicked movie. Now we just have to get the studio and announced director Stephen Daldry to give Kristin Chenoweth the role.
Kristin Chenoweth's comments from Watch What Happens Live! are sure to delight her generations of fans that adore her take on Glinda the Good. Chenoweth got a Tony nomination for originating the role, which she actually lost to co-star Idina Menzel. Both actresses are household names by this point, so it would be a shame if they didn't have some role in the upcoming film. Chenoweth also suggested they might get a quick cameo in a crowd, but that's criminally underusing them in my opinion.
Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz, and attempts to tell the "true story" about the witches of Oz before Dorothy dropped onto the scene. In addition to utilizing beloved characters we all grew up with, it also explainins the origins of said characters like The Scarecrow and The Tin Man. We follow Glinda and The Wicked Witch (named Elphaba) as they meet in school and grow with each other as friends and rivals.
Kristin Chenoweth seems like a great choice to play Madame Morrible, who is the witch's headmistress at Shiz University. She'll still get to play a fairly major role in movie, and even get a few lines of solo singing at the beginning of the Act 1 showstopper "The Wizard and I". But if Chenoweth is playing Morrible, what role might Idina Menzel get to take on? Smart money says she could end up playing Elphaba's mother, who gets to be featured in the opening number of the musical. And since she originated the role, Menzel already kind of is Elphaba's mother in a way.
Alas, we'll have to wait and see. Wicked isn't set to arrive in theaters until 2019, and there hasn't been any casting announcements made for the highly anticipated adaptation. In the meantime, check out of 2018 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
