The two-film adaptation of the legendary Broadway musical Wicked has conjured up another major cast member — Michelle Yeoh! She will portray Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University.
They’re Off To See The Wizard
Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and follows Elphaba, who will eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda, the future Good Witch of the North, while they are dorm roommates at a boarding school for the magical teens of Oz.
Broadway titan Cynthia Erivo will portray Elphaba. She is a Tony, Daytime Emmy, and Grammy Award winner for her role as Celie in The Color Purple. She was also nominated for multiple awards for her lead role in the musical Harriet and the TV miniseries Genius: Aretha.
Glinda will be played by pop superstar Ariana Grande, who has won 218 awards including two Grammys for her album Sweetener and for “Rain on Me,” her duet with Lady Gaga. She has scored six U.S. Billboard #1s — “Thank U, Next,” “7 Rings,” “Stuck with U”
(with Justin Bieber), “Rain on Me,” “Positions,” and “Save Your Tears” (remix with The Weeknd).
Michelle Yeoh Is Very, Very “Popular”
After establishing herself as one of Hong Kong’s biggest action stars in the 1990s, Michelle Yeoh conquered U.S. and other foreign audiences with the 2000 crossover hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon before transitioning to English language films like the James Bond flick Tomorrow Never Dies, Memoirs of a Geisha, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
Though she has worked steadily over the years, she is seeing a career resurgence of late, portraying Philippa Georgiou on Star Trek: Discovery and with roles in Crazy Rich Asians and The School For Good and Evil. She joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe TWICE, playing Aleta Ogord in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 and Ying Nan in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
But perhaps her crowing achievement has been starring in this year’s indie hit Everything Everywhere All At Once. Yeoh and the film look to be frontrunners for the upcoming awards season. The movie recently took home the Gotham Award for Best Picture, while Yeoh’s co-star, Key Huy Quan won Best Supporting Performance. Yeoh was nominated for Best Lead.
The film version of Wicked has been split into two features, with the first arriving around Christmas 2024 and the second following around Christmas 2025. The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton) as Fiyero and Broadway vet Ethan Slater (Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical) as Boq. Jeff Goldblum is in talks to play the Wizard of Oz but has reportedly not officially signed on yet. Jon M. Chu (In The Heights) is directing.
How is the cast of Wicked shaping up for you? Are you looking forward to this adaptation?
