Universal Pictures
*Fans of the popular theatrical play “Wicked” are showing no love for a recreation of the production’s iconic 2003 poster for the upcoming film adaptation of the award-winning musical.
According to The Daily Mail, the new poster differs from its predecessor, with the film’s star Ariana Grande wearing a crown instead of a white hood. Her co-star Cynthia Erivo also strayed from the original poster, by not smirking with red lipstick and displaying her eyes.
Taking to social media, Grande praised Erivo while sharing her excitement over the “Wicked” feature adaptation.
‘I love you @cynthiaerivo and I cannot wait for the world to experience your sheer, utter magnificence in this… I’m just sayin’. I love you, here we go!’ the “Side to Side” singer said on her Instastory of the new poster.
“@arianagrande what a moment in time. What a wonder we get to experience together!” Erivo responded instantly. “I can’t wait for people to be blown away by you and your utter love and care for Glinda (and truly Elphie). It’s time now. I’ve got you. I love you.’
Taking place before the events of the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” “Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba Thropp, the woman who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda Upland, who becomes Glinda the Good. The first part of the adaptation centers on the pair and their unlikely friendship and imminent rivalry as students at Shiz University.
The “Wicked” film adaptation is based on the award-winning musical of the same name, which is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The original Broadway production, which premiered in 2003, starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. It went on to win three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards as well as a Grammy award for its original cast album received a Grammy award.
Despite it being nothing but love between Grande and Erivo, the opposite was clear with users on X (formerly Twitter) sending feedback their way.
“Cannot believe it took them this long to recreate the poster and they fumbled it so hard,” X user @schlife tweeted, while @Sweeney_Daily wondered, “The subtle grin is the most iconic part of the poster, why is she just going [no expression emoji]?”
For @strstyler, it was a matter of going back to what worked for the first poster.
“Would it have been too hard to give her red lipstick, pull down the hat over her eyes, and make her smirk a lil? She just looks like [a straight-faced meme],” she tweeted.
Building off that, @Picsart took matters in hand and photoshopped their own version of the “Wicked” poster, captioning it, ‘Fixed it hope this helps!’
fixed it hope this helps pic.twitter.com/KnziZLImpm
— Picsart (@Picsart) October 9, 2024
Backlash over the new poster comes amid plans for “Wicked” to hit the big screen. In addition to Grande and Erivo, filmgoers will see Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in the highly anticipated, two-part fantasy flick.
Tickets are on sale now for the first part, which arrives in theaters on Nov. 27. The second part of the “Wicked” film will be released close to a year later on Nov. 26, 2025.
Pre-orders for “Wicked: The Soundtrack,” which will include all 11 songs from Act One, can be done now ahead of its official Nov. 22 release.
In the meanwhile, promotion for “Wicked” is underway, as Grande returned to “Saturday Night Live” for a second go-round as host. Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks served as the musical guest, marking her first time on the show since performing in 1983. This time around, the “Edge of Sixteen” songstress performed her new single” The Lighthouse.”
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB: Watch Official Trailer for ‘Wicked’ Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande
