Inside Wicked’s many scandals as first trailer is launched

The first trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked is finally here – after years of delays, production shut-downs, changes in crew, and a slew of on set controversies that left fans wondering if the highly anticipated film would ever make its way to theaters.

As one of the longest running and most popular Broadway shows in history, it comes as no surprise that there is a heightened interest in the flick – but it has suffered a series of setbacks since it was first announced nearly 12 years ago.

In addition, it has seemed as though almost every aspect of the film has been met with immense criticism – the movie has faced fierce fury over everything from its casting and release date to director Jon M. Chu’s decision to split it into two parts.

The Wicked movie has been in talks for more than a decade, beginning in 2012 when the producer of the play, Marc Platt, made the exciting announcement that he was going to turn it into a film. 

At the time, Stephen Daldry signed on as the director, and they revealed that they were teaming up with Universal Pictures and aiming for a 2016 release.

But due to a series of scheduling conflicts, the film was pushed back multiple times, first to 2019 and then again to late 2021.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Universal announced that the film version had been put on hold once again and that Stephen had cut ties with it. 

With no director, release date, or official cast, it seemed like the beloved Wizard of Oz spinoff may never be turned into a movie after all. 

But in February 2021, it was given new life when Jon revealed that he would be taking over as director. 

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as the iconic duo Glinda and Elphaba later that year, and filming kicked off in June 2022.

But the turmoil surrounding the film didn’t end there, as rumors of an explosive affair between Ariana and her costar, Ethan Slater, emerged soon after production began.

Their whirlwind romance completely captured the nation – especially after it was reported that Ethan had cheated on his wife with the singer just months after the birth of his son. 

It seemed that the Wicked movie had been overshadowed by the controversial pairing and the scrutiny surrounding Ethan’s alleged infidelity.

Amid all the drama, the question arose: Will the flick be able to emerge as a success despite all the problems it’s already faced?

As the first trailer for the film version of the Broadway musical finally comes out after years of complications, FEMAIL rounded up all of the mishaps that have unfortunately plagued the long-awaited movie so far.

‘Another musical adaptation down the toilet’: The casting was met with FIERCE criticism since some social media users were not happy with the news that Ariana Grande had been cast as Glinda

The stars of Wicked were first revealed in November 2021 – and the announcement garnered mixed reactions online.

While many people were excited over the news that Ariana had been cast as Glinda the Good Witch, others were not – especially due to her lack of Broadway experience.

Ariana started off in theater when she appeared in the Broadway musical 13 at age 15. 

But after she was cast in Victorious and her career took off, she switched her focus to on-screen acting followed by singing. 

In 2016, however, she briefly returned to the stage when she played Penny Pingleton in the NBC TV broadcast of Hairspray Live!

‘I’ve been waiting for this movie adaptation for so long, and you give us Ariana Grande as Glinda?’ one person scathed on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the announcement.

‘I don’t like Ariana as Glinda. I’m sorry, she’s just not a great actress,’ someone else said.

‘Cannot begin to describe my disappointment in Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda,’ another upset user added. ‘Another musical adaptation down the toilet.’

‘Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda feels like a parody joke about about miscasting based on celebrity status. I hate it here,’ a fourth tweet read.

A fifth said, ‘Ariana will always be an amazing singer and person but as Glinda she’s not the right choice.’ 

‘I’m f***ing devastated,’ someone else admitted. ‘About 15 years I’ve been waiting for this movie to be made and THIS is the pay off? Nah mate, f*** this s***.’

‘Ariana Grande as Glinda? Oh hell no. Someone tell her you have to actually be able to understand the words in a musical,’ a different user stated.

Others, however, defended the Thank U, Next songstress. One person asked, ‘Why are people upset with Ariana Grande being Glinda in the Wicked movie like she didn’t literally start out on Broadway?’

‘Laughing at people complaining about Ariana playing Glinda like she didn’t start in theater,’ another said.

A different social media user tweeted, ‘I’ve said for years Ariana Grande should be Glinda. She’s [got] the vocal chops and brings that star power producers want to see.’

‘Hey Broadway purists, stop hating on Ariana being cast as Glinda in the Wicked movie,’ someone else urged. ‘She started on Broadway.’ 

Ariana is a huge Wicked fan and has spoken out about her love of the play multiple times over the years.

Back in 2011, she tweeted about ‘how badly’ she wanted to play Glinda at some point in her life. 

And in 2020, when asked what her ‘dream role’ was by Zach Sang, she said she ‘would do anything’ to have a chance to star in the movie adaptation.

At the time, she admitted that she had her heart set on portraying Elphaba, jokingly adding, ‘I would do anything. I would stand outside of the producers’ office with coffee waiting for them to acknowledge me, begging to sing Defying Gravity for them.’

Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda on Broadway, later showed her support for the casting choice.

‘I love her so much, I’ve known her since she was 10,’ she gushed of Ariana. ‘I think that crown and wand are going to the exact correct person. 

‘I think she’s gonna nail it. Maybe some people do know this about Ari, but she’s really, really funny. 

‘And Glinda has to do funny and drama; she has to do it all. And sing high and sing low. And so, there’s the girl. I [actually] cried when she got it.’

‘It’s been very painful’: After years of being pushed back, production finally kicked off in 2022 – but cast and crew were left extremely ‘frustrated’ when it was halted again due to SAG-AFTRA strike

After years of being pushed back multiple times, production for Wicked finally began in June 2022.

But filming unfortunately had to be interrupted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The set was shut down for a whopping four months – which left the cast, crew, and fans all immensely ‘frustrated.’

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz told Variety at the time that they had to stop making the movie just 10 days before they were set to wrap.

‘It’s quite frustrating in a way because we have, I think, 10 days worth of shooting to go to finish all the shooting,’ he admitted.

Director Jon also wrote on his Instagram Stories, ‘We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close. It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back.’ 

Production resumed in November 2022. And in March 2023, The Stage reported that dancers for the movie were furious over the changes in the filming schedule.

One dancer, who kept their identity hidden, told the outlet that they had been put ‘on standby for long periods of time’ by the production team, without knowing ‘whether or not they would get the job,’ which took a ‘toll’ on them mentally and forced them to lose out on other opportunities.

‘The hardest part is that we value a job we really want, to the point where we think it might be best to remain available and turn down other work because we want to do the job so badly,’ they explained.

‘It doesn’t feel as though that value and respect is returned when we are being [put on standby] and not confirmed until four days before the job.’

Another anonymous dancer from the movie added, ‘Not knowing whether to wait or try to find work elsewhere was a pretty horrible limbo to be in and caused me a lot of anxiety.’ 

Filming took over a year-and-a-half to be complete, and finally wrapped in January 2024.

‘Another Hollywood money grab’: Fans were unamused when the director revealed the movie was being split into two parts – and that they’d have to wait a whole year to see the second half

In April 2022, Jon announced that the movie was going to be split into two parts – and the news did not go over well with fans.

‘Thank you for all the support these past several months in anticipation of the Wicked movie,’ he wrote on X at the time.

‘We have so many exciting things to share but for now I’m giving you one… or two, rather.

‘Here’s what happened: As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it.’

He said they had ‘tried to cut songs or trim characters,’ but added that the ‘decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.’

‘So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie, but two,’ he continued.

‘With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.’

He promised to ‘create nothing less than an experience that honors its foundation for all the fans who’ve waited for the movie’ and to ‘offer a thrilling, fantastical world full of dynamic characters that invites in those who are unfamiliar.’

The second part is set to release one year after the first. And after waiting so long for the movie already, it came as no shock that the news that fans would have to wait even longer to see the other half was met with fierce criticism. 

‘What a mess,’ one user reacted on X. Another said, ‘Another Hollywood money grab.’ 

‘Have you considered just making one two and a half hour movie? Why are film studios and directors so opposed to just taking a stage show and not cutting anything?’ someone else asked.

‘If it can fit on stage for one evening there’s no reason it can’t be the same on film. Makes no sense.’

‘This is just stupid, don’t do this. Make some damn choices and get the film within at least 150 minutes,’ a different user urged.

‘This is not a way to release films in a binging and streaming era, hated it for Dune and loathe it for a musical.’

‘Very unnecessary. You can easily make a clean two-and-a-half hour Wicked movie, it’s 2:40 curtain to curtain. This is a money grab,’ a fourth scathing tweet read.

A fifth said, ‘This sucks. If people can sit through two hours and 45 minutes (with a 15 minute intermission) at a theater, they can sit through two-and-a-half hours in a MOVIE theater.

‘Stop dumbing things down to the lowest intellectual level. I expect zero from this decision.’

‘Hope the cinemas are giving out night vision goggles’: The first look of the film was met with more criticism as social media users mocked it for being extremely dark

Director Jon unveiled the first look of the upcoming Wicked movie in April 2023, sharing two stills from the flick – but the replies were full of people who were unhappy with how ‘dark’ they were. 

‘Looks like Wicked has been Tim Burton-ised. It’s a bright, in your face show. These just look dark,’ one person remarked. 

Someone else asked, ‘Do we not light movies anymore?’ while a third person joked, ‘Lighting courtesy of the Game of Thrones cinematographer.’

‘Did the studio blow the lighting budget on marketing?’ another angry tweet read.

‘On behalf of my extremely poor eyesight please for the love of god make it brighter,’ a different user begged. 

‘Hope the cinemas are giving out night vision goggles,’ another person said.

Jon quickly posted a follow-up tweet addressing the backlash, and he vowed, ‘Don’t worry, color is in my DNA.

‘This is just the first tease. Plenty of time to show more… stay tuned.’

‘Glinda the Good Witch is not a good human’: Ariana’s controversial romance with Ethan resulted in some ‘boycotting’ the movie all together after it was reported that the actor had cheated with her

When it was brought to light Ariana was dating Ethan, a Broadway actor who is set to play Boq in Wicked, in July 2023, it only made the movie more murky. 

The romance was revealed just days after it was reported that Ariana had split from her then-husband, Dalton Gomez. 

Their relationship caused quite the uproar online – especially because it was reported that it began while the actor was still with his wife, Lilly Jay, who he welcomed a son with one year prior. 

A source even told DailyMail.com that Ariana ‘hung out’ with Ethan’s wife Lilly, along with their newborn, on set multiple times before it was revealed that she was dating her costar.

‘Lilly hung out with Ethan and Ariana so many times,’ the insider said. ‘Ariana met their baby and even held him. 

‘They had dinners together in London – and Ariana told Lilly that she wanted to have a baby one day and that she couldn’t wait to start a family.’ 

They claimed that Lilly discovered her husband had been cheating with Ariana after she traveled to London to visit Ethan in April.

But they said that she and Ethan made the decision to try and ‘put it behind them and work on their marriage,’ only for her to later discover that he had continued his romance with the singer. 

‘There was a period when they were all going to try and work on their marriages and put the whole thing behind them,’ the source continued. ‘She thought they were happy. 

‘But that did not work out [because Ariana and Ethan] kept the affair going despite [that].’ 

The source noted that Lilly – who has been with the Broadway star since high school and tied the knot with him four years before the drama – believed her husband was ‘starstruck’ by Ariana, adding, ‘He was a new dad in a new country who had never been on a major movie set before.’

Lilly has since damned Ariana in a series of disparaging interviews, telling Page Six that the songstress was ‘not a girl’s girl’ and adding blisteringly that ‘her family was just collateral damage’ to the hitmaker.

Amid the drama, many social media users branded Ariana as a ‘homewrecker’ and some were so upset that they tried to ‘boycott’ the Wicked movie all together.

‘I propose a boycott of the new #Wicked. I’m so disappointed in #ArianaGrande,’ one person wrote on X last July.

‘I thought she was better than that. I know it’s weird to be disappointed in someone I don’t really know, and yet I am.’

‘Glinda the Good Witch is not a good human. Sucks for the production team, but boycott Wicked,’ someone else said.

‘Maybe we should all just boycott the new Wicked movie,’ a third tweet read.

Ariana and Ethan – who insisted their relationship started after they both split from their respective partners – have been going strong ever since, and it’s even been reported that they moved in together.