Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo on the set of Wicked: Part 1: the first exclusive photos

We're certainly not in Kansas anymore. The first official teaser has been revealed Wicked: Part 1played by the actress Cynthia Erivo (winner of a Grammy, a Tony and an Emmy) and the pop star Ariana Grande (Grammy winner), which shows the director's Oz for the first time ever Jon M. Chu. Now Vanity Fair brings you an exclusive portrait of Erivo and Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, the witches whose friendship-rivalry fuels the story, as well as the first interviews with cast members, director and producer.

Grande and Erivo tell a Vanity Fair of having become inseparable friends during the making of the film (tattoos of Wicked coordinated etc.) and seem excited to reunite so few days after filming ended in January. “Actually, I told my mom I was very relieved that we wouldn't be missing that long,” Grande says.

As for Glinda and Elphaba's relationship, Grande says it's defined by “a truly selfless love and friendship. They are both each other's first true friends, two people who accept each other for everything they are.” Erivo agrees (“When they understand that they are actually different sides of the same coin, they see each other clearly”) and hopes that Wicked: Part 1 can teach an important lesson: «We are all different And equal, and it's the differences we have that actually make us truly special. Hopefully, we use these differences to introduce ourselves to each other. We don't push people away because they are different, but we open up because they are special.”

For Chu, Wicked is more than a hugely successful Broadway musical. “This is there American fairy tale,” he says to Vanity Fair. “We live in a time when we are reevaluating the history of life in America. What is truth? What is a happy ending? Is the yellow brick road the one to follow? Is there really someone on the other side who will grant your wishes?”

Wicked: Part 1 tries to answer these and other questions. The librettist Winnie Holzman and the composer Stephen Schwartz, who adapted the Broadway show from the novel by Gregory Maguirecollaborated with Chu and the producer of Wicked Marc Platt to adapt the theatrical production to the big screen. Apparently, the result was so magnificent that the team thought that Wicked should become not one but two feature films. Part 1 will take flight on November 27 this year, while the second part will arrive in theaters on November 26, 2025.

«We didn't want to end up making a single four-hour film and then eliminate some songs. We want to satisfy fans of the musical,” says Platt. «The film allows you to create a place and a time: a university like Shiz, a crazy residence of the governor of the Emerald City… There is so much more to explore».

Now, finally, we can take a look at these worlds, inspired by L. Frank Baum's children's literature classic and the stage version of Joe Mantello. Chu's film realizes the hallowed halls of Shiz University and the verdant streets of the Emerald City in the most lavish way possible. «Wicked on the big screen it had the opportunity to be the grandest, most spectacular, most epic musical experience ever,” Chu said. «We basically said: “Let's put everything in there”.

The Oscar winner is also part of the dazzling cast Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the star of Travel friends Jonathan Bailey as Tony Award nominee Fiyero Ethan Slater as Boq, the newcomer Marissa Bode as Nessarose e Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz.

In this portrait, taken by Sophie Holland, Grande wears a bubblegum pink dress and tiara reminiscent of the dress Glinda the Good wears when she first meets Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, while Erivo shows off Elphaba's witch's hat, which is very… pointy. The couple stares directly at the goal: two friends ready to face their destiny.