Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to Star in Wicked Musical for Universal

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will be defying gravity in the near future. In Universal's big-screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical, directed by Jon M. Chu of "In the Heights," Grande and Erivo will play Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. He's been associated with the movie since February, and casting rumors for the two lead parts in the film have been circulating for months.

On Thursday evening, the celebs revealed their castings via Instagram posts.

“Dear Cynthia, honored doesn’t even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz,” Grande said in a note to Erivo, which was accompanied by a pink and green floral arrangement (the signature colors of Glinda and Elphaba).

Both artists are true multi-hyphenates, with Grande making her Broadway debut in the musical "13" and appearing in productions like "Victorious" and Adam McKay's upcoming feature "Don't Look Up." Erivo, on the other hand, is on her way to earning an EGOT for her part as Celie in the 2015-2017 revival of "The Color Purple," for which she won a Tony, a Grammy, and a daytime Emmy.

"Wicked" is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," and it tells the story of Dorothy's journey to Oz. Elphaba, who would go on to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda the Good Witch were played by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the original Broadway production. "Wicked" has recently resumed live performances, with Broadway theatres returning after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film adaptation of "Wicked" has been in the works for a long time and was recently halted by Stephen Daldry's departure as a director due to scheduling difficulties last October. Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the Broadway show's music and lyrics, are developing the script. The film will be produced by Marc Platt, who previously produced the Broadway musical.