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Jonathan Bailey is in talks to join the cast of Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” movies.
The “Bridgerton” star will play Fiyero in the two-part feature adaptation headlined by Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The Universal Pictures films are set for release on Christmas in 2024 and 2025.
“Wicked” is a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” telling the story of how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
“We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one ‘Wicked’ movie but two!” Chu wrote in a statement when announcing the two-parter. “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 for these beloved characters.”
Stephen Schwartz, who penned the music and lyrics to the original Broadway show, is adapting the “Wicked” screenplay with Winnie Holzman. The musical opened on Broadway in 2003 and continues to run, earning more than $1 billion on Broadway. The show is second only to “The Lion King” as the highest grossing Broadway musical of all time.
Marc Platt will produce the films for his Universal-based Marc Platt Productions. David Stone will also produce. Universal’s senior executive vice president of production Erik Baiers and vice president of production development Lexi Barta will oversee the project.
In July, it was announced that Bailey will play Matt Bomer’s love interest in “Fellow Travelers,” Showtime’s limited series adaptation of Thomas Mallon’s novel of the same name. Bailey recently starred in a West End production of the Mike Bartlett play “Cock.” He won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2019 for his work in the London production of “Company.”
Bailey is represented by Anonymous Content, Conway van Gelder Grant Ltd, CAA and Relevant.
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