Michelle Yeoh is joining the star-studded cast of the upcoming Wicked film adaptation, according to a recent report from Variety.
Yeoh, who most recently starred in the critically acclaimed A24 film Everything Everywhere All at Once, will star in the film as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University.
Yeoh joins a cast that’s already incredibly robust, with the film set to be headlined by Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba — who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West — and Jeff Goldblum, who will play the Wizard.
Also set to join the film is Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton), who will play Fiyero. The Wicked films are currently planned to release on Christmas in 2024 and 2025, with director Jon M. Chu confirming there would be two films instead of one earlier this year.
The upcoming movie adaptation is based on the critically acclaimed Broadway musical, which itself is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which in turn is based on the classic 1900 L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story of two friends, Elphaba and Glinda, who struggle to maintain their friendship as they grow apart. The story serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, but the plot does contain events from after Dorothy’s arrival in Oz as well.
The film adaptation will be produced by Marc Platt through his Universal-based Marc Platt Productions. Senior Executive Vice President of Production Erik Baiers and Vice President of Production Development Lexi Barta will oversee the project on behalf of Universal Pictures.
The stage musical Wicked has won three Tony awards and is adapted from Gregory Maguire’s bestselling novel by book writer Winnie Holzman and three-time Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Holzman and Schwartz are currently collaborating on the screenplay adaptation.