The Wicked Movies Have Begun Filming

Well, the title says it all. Film has begun rolling (metaphorically since most movies are shot on digital) on director John M. Chu's two-part film adaptation of the musical Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.

Along with the news, more casting of principal roles have been announced. I say this because with casting announcements, there's an inaccurate perception that the roles are cast as they're announced. They need time to make sure songs are arranged to bring out the best performances and costumes are ready to go. Rather, they get cast well ahead of time. Announcing them is part of the publicity for the film.

Jeff Goldblum has been confirmed as playing the Wizard in the movies. He should need no introduction, but if you're not familiar, he made his big break in David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly in 1986, then went on to feature in 1993's Jurassic Park and 1996's Independence Day. More recently, he's played the Grandmaster in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. He also leads Disney+'s The World According to Jeff Goldblum and is commonly seen in commercials for Apartments.com.

In addition, Michelle Yeoh has been cast as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University. The casting is unexpected but a welcome surprise. The Malaysian actress has featured in several roles in film and television over the years, more recently joining the Star Trek franchise in the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, playing two roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and starring in this year's sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Ethan Slater has been cast as Boq, one of the students at Shiz University who crushes on Galinda but ends up involved with Nessarose, Elphaba's sister. The role is highly changed from the Gregory Maguire novel in which he is the Munchkin farmer from the original Baum book, he just happened to have brushed shoulders with Glinda and the "wicked" witches back in the day. Slater received a Drama Desk award for his lead role in Spongebob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical, a role he later reprised for a filmed television version.

After these featured castings, a number of smaller roles were announced: wheelchair using actress Marissa Bode is making her feature film debut as Nessarose. Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang and actress Bronwyn James are playing Pfanee and ShenShen, two Shiz classmates who are depicted as good friends with Galinda. Aaron Teoh will be playing Avaric, Fiyero's footman and driver. Colin Michael Carmichael will be playing Dr. Nikidik, the teacher who replaces Dr. Dillamond.

The most surprising casting is Keala Settle as Miss Coddle. The actress and singer featured as a bearded lady in 2017's The Greatest Showman, impressing audiences with her singing voice. The character is seemingly original to the film adaptation. Given her incredible pipes, it's suspected she'll be singing one of the new songs Stephen Schwartz has been penning for the film.

Still to be announced is who's playing Dr. Dillamond. Given that the character is a goat, it is entirely possible that the role will be played by a stand-in during principal photography and created with CG in post-production, to be voiced by a yet to be announced surprise star.

Other roles yet to be confirmed are Frex and Melena, Nessarose and Elphaba's parents. It's also hoped that original Broadway cast members of the musical—especially stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith—will be appearing in cameos.

While Wicked isn't every Oz fan's cup of tea, it's exciting to have a film project to look forward to, and I'm very interested to see John Chu's new incarnation of the story.