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Will you be flying to the cinema to see Wicked?

The image shows two stars of the new Wicked movie - Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Ariana Grande wears a pink dress and Cynthia Erivo wears a black dress. Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took to the yellow brick road (carpet) for the World premiere of Wicked.

It has been over three years since the film adaptation of the hit musical Wicked was announced, and finally it has had its world premiere.

The stars of the film posed on a yellow brick road - a reference to the original Wizard of Oz story - at the opening event of their mammoth press tour in Sydney, Australia.

The biggest stars, Ariana Grande who plays Glinda and Cynthia Erivo who plays Elphaba, were the main attraction for photographers, and many fans are saying their outfits hit the high notes!

So what have the lucky few who have seen the film said about it, and what else did we find out about Wicked?

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

The cast of Wicked dazzled the fans in Sydney on Sunday evening. (Left to right) Johnathan Bailey plays Prince Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum is the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Glinda herself as portrayed by Ariana Grande and Elphaba is played by Cynthia Erivo. Marissa Bode plays Elphaba's sister Nessarose and Ethan Slater plays a munchkin called Boq.

If you are unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is Wicked, allow us to fill you in.

The long-running and mega-successful stage show, Wicked is based on a novel by author Gregory Maguire and tells the backstory of Elphaba, a powerful witch, born with green skin, who goes on to become the Wicked Witch of West in the Wizard of Oz.

She meets a popular student Galinda who eventually becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

The story touches on themes of friendship, good versus evil, power and discrimination.

The great and powerful stars of Wicked travelled down under to Sydney in Australia to begin a mammoth run of premieres across the world for the hotly anticipated movie.

The other celebs who took to the yellow brick road either wore pink or green, referencing the two main characters.

Wicked: Part One is scheduled for release in the UK on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

Some Wonderful Wicked facts

  • The musical opened on Broadway in 2003, and London's West end in 2006

  • It is based on a novel written in1995 by Gregory Maguire called 'Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'

  • It's made over $1 billion on Broadway - the only two other musicals to have done so are the Lion King and Phantom of the Opera

What do people think of the movie so far?

Early social media reviews of the film have said the two main stars are outstanding.

Jazz Tangcay who works for entertainment magazine Variety, said the "world is not ready for how great Wicked is. [Director] Jon M. Chu, Cynthia Erivo, and Ariana Grande have gifted us a musical masterpiece that is much more than we could have ever expected."

Scott Menzel who is a film & TV journalist has said the film "lives up to the hype and often succeeds it... Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo completely knock it out of the park. Hands down one of the year鈥檚 best films" he added.