Ariana Grande’s latest interviews finally answer the question fans typed into search bars for months : what is going on with Wicked and Glinda. Speaking about the two-part film, she lays out the stakes of stepping into a beloved role, the pressure of a billion-dollar stage legacy, and the precise timeline as Universal shifts the Emerald City to the big screen.
Here is the headline context, upfront. Wicked is directed by Jon M. Chu with Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Universal split the adaptation in two in 2022 to preserve the score and story scale, with Part One dated for 27 November 2024 and Part Two set for 26 November 2025 (Variety, April 2022). The first look landed during Super Bowl LVIII on 11 February 2024, igniting a fresh wave of questions around the vocals, the cast chemistry, and how production navigated the 118-day SAG-AFTRA strike that ended 9 November 2023 (Associated Press, Nov 2023).
Ariana Grande on Wicked : why Glinda, why now, and what changed
The main idea is simple and huge. Ariana Grande has waited years for this character. In multiple conversations during 2024 album promo and the Super Bowl teaser rollout, she points to lifelong attachment to the material and to the trust built with Jon M. Chu and Cynthia Erivo. For fans wondering if the pop star voice fits Oz, the interviews put craft front and center.
An observation surfaced quickly : training sat at the core. Grande returned to theater habits many first discovered when she appeared in the Broadway musical “13” in 2008, long before arena tours (Playbill). The goal was clarity of text, not just range, and a Glinda timbre distinct from her chart sound. That choice comes through in the teaser where consonants and sparkle sit higher, lighter, cleaner.
There was a problem to solve on set after the strike pause. Production had to protect performances across a long gap, then re-enter emotional beats without breaking tone. Interviews reference that stop-start reality after the 2023 shutdown, a hurdle faced by every studio picture when the industry froze. The continuity fans hear in those few seconds of “Popular” hints at how tight the musical direction stayed.
Inside the interviews : rehearsal, voice, and filming with Cynthia Erivo
The middle of the story answers what people keep asking. How did she prepare, and what did filming look like alongside Cynthia Erivo. Grande describes long stretches in London focused on alignment with Erivo’s power and shade. Not a duel, a dialogue. When one sits in chest voice, the other lifts brightness. Then they switch. That kind of partnering shows up in the trailer cut built around “Defying Gravity” tension.
Dates matter here too. The first-look footage premiered 11 February 2024 as Universal leaned into the Super Bowl to reach non-theater audiences (Universal Pictures, Feb 2024). The calendar also explains the endurance test : production momentum in 2023, a strike pause from 14 July to 9 November 2023, then a return to finish principal photography before the 2024 marketing cycle (Associated Press, Nov 2023).
Facts the interviews confirm without drama : the core cast is set with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose. Universal’s two-film plan, announced in 2022, gave the team runway to keep signature numbers intact rather than compress them into medleys (Variety, April 2022). That choice definity changes how audiences will meet Glinda on screen.
What it means for fans before Wicked Part One hits theaters
Here is the logical takeaway from those sit-downs. Grande frames Glinda as a character study built on restraint and warmth, not just high notes. That aligns with Chu’s approach to scale and intimacy seen in prior musicals. The pitch to skeptics is practical : listen to diction, watch scene partners, and measure the arc across two releases rather than one.
There is a wider industry angle inside the numbers. The two-part dates – 27 November 2024 and 26 November 2025 – place Wicked in the holiday corridor twice, where family musicals historically find repeat business. The 118 days of strike disruption explain the long marketing simmer and the early teaser play during America’s biggest TV event. All of that shows a studio building patience and a star asking to be judged on performance choices, not headlines.
One more thread from the interviews matters. Ariana Grande kept music active while finishing Oz. “Eternal Sunshine” arrived 8 March 2024 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 227,000 equivalent album units in its first week, a data point that underlines how present her voice is in pop and on screen at the same time (Billboard, March 2024). It sets expectations for Wicked’s soundtrack moment as release nears.
So what is left. Two dates to circle, one teaser to replay, and a promise repeated across her media stops : Glinda is not a cameo for a chart star, it is a fully built performance shaped with Cynthia Erivo and Jon M. Chu. Fans who wanted specifics now have them – timing, cast, and a clear sense of how Ariana Grande tuned her instrument for Oz.