Eagle-eyed “Wicked” fans think they've spotted Kristin Chenoweth in new promo video
If it is Chenoweth, could original Elphaba actress Idina Menzel make a surprise cameo too?
Something has changed within Wicked's rumor mill. Something is not the same.
The team behind Jon M. Chu's upcoming big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical released a brand-new featurette today, chock-full of exciting bits and bobs, from exclusive interviews with stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, to new glimpses at Oz and Shiz, to ... is that Kristin Chenoweth?
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that around the 1:53 mark, as Chu gushes over the "humanity" of Erivo and Grande's friendship in voiceover, a second-long BTS shot of the pair flanked by a crowd of Oz citizens potentially includes Chenoweth, the originator of the Glinda role on Broadway.
Universal Pictures
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, 'Wicked' official featuretteRelated: Jonathan Bailey is Oz's most eligible bachelor in new Wicked teaser
It's a far away, blink-and-you-miss it appearance, but the individual's piles of sunny-blonde hair, dark eye makeup, small stature, and tanned skin are all Chenoweth hallmarks. Reps for Chenoweth did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment and a rep for Universal has declined to comment.
It appears as though Kristin Chenoweth is visible in the latest featurette for ‘Wicked’ ???? pic.twitter.com/AMGfunf4m8
— Wicked Updates ?? (@wicked_updates) August 21, 2024
It would make perfect sense for Chenoweth and even her original Broadway costar Idina Menzel to make appearances in the film. In a cameo and surprise appearance-obsessed entertainment culture, the secrecy around their potential appearances makes sense too.
Wicked already boasts a stellar A-list cast that includes Jonathan Bailey as Elphaba's love interest, Fiyero; Michelle Yeoh as the scheming Shiz University president Madame Morrible; Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard; Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond; and SNL's Bowen Yang, who will appear as the new character Pfannee.
There's already enough star power to sell this film — enough even to keep Chenoweth and Menzel on reserve for an exciting premiere-day reveal.
As to who Chenoweth would play since Grande is filling Glinda's shoes, fans speculate that she could could appear as Glinda's mother. Though Glinda's parentage goes unmentioned in the stage adaptation by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, source-novel author Gregory Maguire does name Glinda's mother as Larena Upland, a member of a noble, wealthy family.
Note that Adam James was cast in 2023 as Glinda's father, but the film's official credits don't list anyone playing her mother. A trailer released in May depicts Glinda sailing to Shiz (about 23 seconds in) perched atop a mountain of pink luggage, with a crew of helpers and, presumably, James as her exquisitely festooned father. But no other character in the frame checks out as a potential mother. She could have been hidden to not give the cameo away, until (potentially) today.
The Wicked rollout has been replete with clues and hints, from Grande "trying to subliminally tell you through the screen" that she was cast as Glinda by wearing a pink choker on The Tonight Show, to a call-back to the 1939 film that started it all (at 1:02 in the trailer) — a shot of Elphaba nervously staring at a cluster of poppies.
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Wicked will be split into two films, the first releasing Nov. 22, 2024 (five days earlier than its original peg), and the second on Nov. 26, 2025.
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