Michelle Yeoh.Photo: Araya Doheny/FilmMagic
Michelle Yeohis headed to the land of Oz!
On Thursday,Varietyreported that Yeoh, 60, has joined the Jon M. Chu-directed musical adaptation as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University who teaches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) how to use her magical powers.
TheEverything Everywhere All At Oncestar — who was namedTIMEmagazine’s Icon of the YearTuesday — will reunite with director Chu, with whom she worked on 2018’sCrazy Rich Asians, for the role in theupcoming two-part musical adaptation.
Yeoh joins a star-studded cast that includes Erivo, 35, andAriana Grande, 29, who werecast as the leads, Elphaba and Glinda, in November 2021.
In September 2022, Chu confirmed thatBridgertonstarJonathan Bailey is joining the castas Fiyero, the main love interest in the musical. In October,Varietyreported thatJeff Goldblum was in final talksto play the Wizard, but the outlet noted Thursday that a deal has not yet been signed, citing sources.
Emma McIntyre/WireImage
The outlet also reported Thursday that Broadway actor Ethan Slater (SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical) is set to joinWicked’s cast as Boq.
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Chu himself revealed that thestory will be told across two filmsthat bring “even more depth and surprise” to the famous Broadway musical’s story in April in aletter he shared on social media.
“As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story ofWickedinto a single film without doing some real damage to it,” Chu wrote at the time. “As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.”
RELATED VIDEO: Idina Menzel CongratulatesAriana Grande, Cynthia Erivo onWickedCasting News: “So Much Love”
Wickeddebuted on Broadway in October 2003 withIdina Menzel,Kristin ChenowethandJoel Greyas the original cast members playing Elphaba, Glinda and the Wizard, respectively.
The book/musical tells the story of Elphaba’s life prior to becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’sThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz(which was later adapted into the classic 1939 film starringJudy Garland).
The original Broadway production won threeTony Awardsand six Drama Desk Awards, as well as aGrammy Award.
Wicked Part 1isscheduled to hit theatersDec. 25, 2024, with thesequel expected to release exactly one year later.
source: people.com
