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We\u2019re certainly not in Kansas anymore. The first official teaser for Wicked,<\/em> starring Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy-winning actor Cynthia Erivo<\/strong> and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande,<\/strong> has been unveiled, revealing director Jon M. Chu<\/strong>\u2019s Oz for the very first time. Now, VF<\/em> has an exclusive portrait of Erivo and Grande in character as Elphaba and Glinda<\/a>, the witches whose friendship-turned-rivalry fuels the story, as well as the first interviews with the cast and filmmakers.<\/p>\n Grande and Erivo tell VF<\/em> they\u2019ve become inseparable friends while making the movie\u2014matching Wicked<\/em> tattoos<\/a> and all\u2014and sound thrilled to be together again so soon after the shoot wrapped in January. \u201cI actually told my mom I was really relieved we don\u2019t have to miss each other that long,\u201d says Grande.<\/p>\n As for Glinda and Elphaba\u2019s relationship, Grande says it\u2019s defined by \u201ca really selfless love and friendship. They\u2019re both each other\u2019s first real friend, a person who accepts them for everything that they are.\u201d Erivo seconds that: \u201cOnce they figure out that they\u2019re actually different sides of the same coin, they see each other clearly.\u201d She hopes Wicked<\/em> can teach an important lesson: \u201cWe are all different and<\/em> the same, and the differences that we have actually make us really special. Hopefully we use those differences to introduce ourselves to one another. We aren\u2019t pushing people away because they\u2019re different, but we\u2019re opening up because they\u2019re special.\u201d<\/p>\n For Chu, Wicked<\/em> is more than a megahit Broadway musical. \u201cThis is the<\/em> American fairy tale,\u201d he tells Vanity Fair.<\/em> \u201cWe are in a time where we are reassessing the story of life in America. What is truth? What is a happy ending? Is the yellow brick road the road to follow? Is someone really there on the other end who\u2019s going to give you your heart\u2019s desire?\u201d<\/p>\n The first installment of Wicked<\/em> seeks to answer those questions and more. Book writer Winnie Holzman<\/strong> and composer Stephen Schwartz,<\/strong> who adapted the Broadway show from Gregory Maguire<\/strong>\u2019s novel, collaborated with Chu and Wicked<\/em> producer Marc Platt<\/strong> to adapt the stage production for the screen. The result was apparently so splendiferous that the team felt Wicked<\/em> needed to be not one but two feature films<\/a>. Part one takes flight on November 27 this year. The second hits theaters November 26, 2025.<\/p>\n