Movie musicals are a tried and true genre in the film world, sometimes ending with massive critical acclaim and Awards Season. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming musicals coming to theaters is the Wicked movies, directed by Jon M. Chu (In The Heights, Crazy Rich Asians). The cast that’ll bring Oz to life is coming together, and now Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Michelle Yeoh has landed a key role in the screen adaptation of Wicked.
Michelle Yeoh has had a long and wildly successful career as an actress and stunt performer, but she’s been definitely having a moment this year. This is is largely thanks to the universal acclaim that’s come toward The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once, to which she stars. And a report by Variety revealed she’ll once again collaborate with her Crazy Rich Asians director, playing Madame Morrible in the Wicked films.
In the Wicked stage musical (and the original novel by Gregory Maguire) Madame Morrible begins as the Headmistress of Shiz University, which is where Glinda and Elphaba aka The Wicked Witch first meet. When the two protagonists eventually go to the Emerald City, she follows and becomes the Great Oz’s Press Secretary. And as such, Michelle Yeoh should have an exciting role in both of the upcoming movies.
Since Wicked is a beloved Broadway musical, perhaps the biggest question that might be surrounding this casting announcement is whether or not moviegoers will be hearing Michelle Yeoh’s singing voice featured. While Morrible doesn’t get her own song, she usually get one big vocal solo at the start of Elphaba’s beloved song “The Wizard and I.” And as such, it seems like she’ll likely be singing with none other than Cynthia Erivo herself as the green girl.
This latest casting news from the Wicked movies is sure to help further increase the hype for the highly anticipated movie musical. As previously mentioned, the first names attached to bring Jon M. Chu’s vision to life were none other than Broadway and stage icon Cynthia Erivo and pop star (and Brodway vet) Ariana Grande. Since then the cast has slowly been getting updated, starting with Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey as leading man Fiyero and the always delightful Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard. And just yesterday it was revealed that Ethan Slater, who got a Tony nomination for leading role in The SpongeBob Musical, will be playing everyone’s favorite munchkin: Boq.
Given the visual spectacle that Jon M. Chu created with the In the Heights movie, he seems like a great choice to be behind the camera for Wicked. His decision to make two different movies definitely turned some heads, but pleased the Broadway purists out there. The worst thing about most movie adaptations of musicals is just how many songs/characters end up on the cutting room floor. And Chu seemingly didn’t want to part with either. So presumably the first Wicked film should end with the show’s Act 1 closing number “Defying Gravity” but who knows?
The first Wicked movie is currently expected to arrive in theaters on December 25th, 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year. As for Michelle Yeoh, she has a ton of projects coming down the line including roles in the third and fourth Avatar movies and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Plus she’s a favorite for this coming Awards Season, with many assuming she’ll get an Oscar nom (or win!) for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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