“Wicked” shines with footage of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

One year after the first look of evil At CinemaCon, Universal Pictures brought members of the magical crew to Las Vegas on Wednesday to light up the festivities once again, with the team including director Jon M. Chu and his leading ladies, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, having the honor of providing exclusive footage to theater owners.

It was an emotional display of evil Cho’s team was moved to tears as he recounted finding two performers to lead the film, after which Grande choked up as well.

The electric show — which graced the stage with remarks from cast members like Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Chu and producer Marc Platt — was televised from the start as Coliseum staff handed out gifts evil Share to attendees as they enter the theatre. Other staff instructed guests to be careful when placing tulips in the cup holders at each seat until instructed to do so.

Global President Donna Langley had the “privilege” of presenting evil The team in a clip showed how confident the studio was in the film as they devoted 30 minutes of the two-hour show to the musical. “You all got a taste of this amazing film at CinemaCon last year,” Langley said. The world has loved and celebrated this musical for over 20 years. It’s proof that our future is unlimited, if that makes you a little cynical. Thank you all for being here today. The healer will see you now.”

The stage then went dark and the ribbons lit up like tulips in shades of pink and green, going from flickering to bright in a stunning display. The screen then featured an oversized Oz, who provided a custom audio commentary for CinemaCon. “Who are you and why are you looking for me? Look at the cinema people,” said Oz. “A spectacle awaits us that will glorify your palaces of light and sound this holiday season. …Remember, there’s no place like Oz. “There’s no place like Oz.”

The Wizard then appeared in actor form as Goldblum provided an Oz-tastic opening for the team by being the first to arrive on stage after Langley. After a decades-long (or “long”) career in which he was chased by dinosaurs and transformed into a fly, he “was never part of the magic of this movie,” he said. He then corrected himself to say “movies” as the images were shot simultaneously. He praised the creative team who built the set, created the props, and presented the magical world. “This whole experience has been, for me, dreamy in one word.”

Cho and Platt then walked out on stage and the latter said his journey with the material began 25 years ago when he first read Gregory Maguire’s book, which he first conceived as a film. But at the request of collaborating composer Stephen Schwartz, it was initially conceived as a musical. The rest is history.

Cho then described himself as a kid from “Silicon Valley” who, “in a stroke of luck that now seems like fate,” happened to be in San Francisco at the time of the music workshop. “It was permanently imprinted on me.” He said it tells the story of Elphaba, a person who was “judged because of her appearance.” It became a dream job when he was hired to direct it on screen.

“We dreamed very, very big about Wicked,” Cho continued, because they wanted to pay homage to the source material but worked with the goal of creating a new theatrical world of its own. “A magical land full of sights and sounds that will amaze you and performances that will lift your spirits and sometimes break your heart.”

Platt was tasked with negotiating the casting process, which lasted for several months. “These characters are very aspirational for young people and mean a lot to a lot of people, and we knew we had to do it absolutely right,” Platt said. “We saw so many optimistic women from every corner of the world.” But when they met Grande and Erivo, “they demanded every one of their roles. When we finally saw them, we knew we had hit the right pairing. Two strong women were destined to play these roles.”

Erivo and Grande then took to the stage to a standing ovation from the audience, wearing nods to their characters with Grande in a Loewe-style floral dress with shades of pink while Erivo wore a green shirt and silver skirt. Although they did not sing, Erivo noted that this was the first time either of them had spoken publicly evil. “This entire experience is absolutely impossible to put into words,” Grande added. She detailed her winding path to Wicked that began when she saw the Broadway show for the first time at age 10. At that moment she knew playing Glinda was her dream role.

Erivo started doing this later in life, when she was 25, when she took herself on a solo date to see the show. “We’ve performed these songs publicly and privately, and now we play Elphaba and Glinda, two roles that have been so central to our lives.”

Grande, who edited the stage direction and approached Erivo so they could hold hands, then exchanged famous Wicked lines with Erivo saying he had been changed forever by this experience. “We both felt an enormous responsibility to honor these women and pour our hearts, souls, and tears — so many different pairs of lashes.” “You and I are bound for life,” Erivo added.

Erivo plays Elphaba in Grande’s Glinda opposite Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Bridgerton It stars Billy as Fiyero, Goldblum as the Wizard, Kayla Settle as Miss Caudle, Ethan Slater as Puck, Marisa Budd as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Fannie, Bronwyn James as Shinshin, and Adam James as Glinda’s father. During today’s show, it was announced that Peter Dinklage has taken over the role of Dr. Dillmond.

The story unfolds when Elphaba and Glinda meet as students at Shi’s University in the fictional Land of Oz and form an unlikely but profound friendship. After an encounter with the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads. Glinda’s desire for popularity makes her tempted by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself and those around her has unexpected consequences for her future. Their paths take them to fulfill their destinies as the good Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West.

The flashy footage, shown only to CinemaCon attendees, shows Elphaba’s arrival at Shiv University and early interactions with Glinda as she reveals they’ll be roommates. Glinda gives her new roommate a not-so-warm welcome by giving her a small sleeping space behind a clothes rack filled with pink dresses. At one point, Glinda is also seen hanging from a chandelier and plans to give Elphaba the famous black hat which she says she will never give to anyone because there is no one she hates so much. However, at the university dance, she shows it to Elphaba and the frosty friendship seems to crack in the scene when Elphaba ignores what the other students think of her. The duo then set off once Elphaba was summoned to meet the wizard in the Emerald City.

Adapted from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical ⁠ (both based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Written by Gregory Maguire) has been in the works for years, with the film being produced by veteran theater producer Marc Platt alongside David Stone. Winnie Holzman wrote the screenplay as well as the book for Broadway.

Plattt and Stone also shepherded the original Broadway production, which debuted on the Great White Way 20 years ago, on October 8, 2003. It became a certified cultural phenomenon launching national and international productions and becoming the No. 2 highest-grossing Broadway show of all time, after… the king lion.

While crafting the big-screen world based on the Broadway musical, Cho said he wanted the Technicolor world to look as real as possible. “I knew what this movie could be. What would it feel like to be in Oz? To be in the dirt? Feel it at your fingertips,” Cho asked in a video shown last year at CinemaCon, suggesting that the project would do things that couldn’t be done. on Broadway. He said at the time that the team planted real flowers to cover Oz, rather than using CG, because he wanted Oz to feel like a real place. He later said that Grande and Erivo recorded their vocals live while the cameras were rolling.

evil It hits theaters in time for Thanksgiving on November 27. Villain part twoIt is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2025.

More is coming.