Alongside star-studded moments and the beginning of a whole new era for the music industry’s brightest star, this year’s Super Bowl also gave us a first-look at the long-awaited film version of Wicked.
The long-running West End and Broadway favourite, based on the classic story of The Wizard Of Oz, is being turned into a new movie musical, starring Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo and chart-topping pop superstar Ariana Grande in the lead roles.
During Sunday night’s Super Bowl, a minute-long “first look” at the new film was released, showing Cynthia in action as Elphaba for the first time, as well as appearances from cast members Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh.
However, not everyone was impressed with the trailer.
Many were upset that, aside from a quick blast of Defying Gravity at the beginning and end, none of the characters were heard singing in the trailer, likening it to teasers for recent big-screen musicals Wonka and Mean Girls…
Others took a different approach, pointing out that Cynthia’s voice could still be heard in the clip, while noting that Wicked is already popular enough as a musical that it doesn’t necessarily need to advertise itself as such…
It was previously revealed that Wicked was being split into two films, the first of which will hit cinemas later this year.
Wicked first arrived on Broadway in 2003, and scooped 10 Tony nominations, including wins for its original lead actor Idina Menzel. It eventually opened in London in 2006, and remains open to this day.
Wicked is due for release in the UK on 27 November 2024.