Yahoo Finance Bowen Yang Joins Wicked Movie as Director Jon M. Chu Rounds Out Live-Action Cast: Reports
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Another big name is making his way to Oz: Bowen Yang.
The Saturday Night Live cast member, 32, has reportedly joined the star-studded cast of Jon M. Chu's feature adaptation of the Wicked Broadway musical as Pfannee, a friend of the character Glinda (played by Ariana Grande), per Deadline.
Pfanee is a Munchkinlander who is a classmate of Glinda and Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo) at Shiz University. Yang recently appeared in the gay romantic comedies Bros and Fire Island.
RELATED: Michelle Yeoh Joins Cast of Wicked Movies as Madame Morrible
Keala Settle, a breakout star from The Greatest Showman, has also joined the cast as Miss Coddle, per Variety. Newcomer Marissa Bode will play Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, and Brownwyn James has been cast as ShenShen, another one of Elphaba and Glinda's classmates, per Deadline.
On Thursday, it was announced that Michelle Yeoh will play Madame Morrible and reunite with Chu, 43, who directed her in 2018's Crazy Rich Asians. Additionally, Broadway actor Ethan Slater (SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical) is set to join Wicked's cast as Boq.
Ariana Grande/Instagram
Bridgerton lead Jonathan Bailey was also announced to play Fiyero in September. Jeff Goldblum's name has also come up, with Variety reporting that he's in talks to play the Wizard.
RELATED: Jeff Goldblum in Talks to Play Wizard in Wicked Movies with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande: Report
Few details have been revealed about the film adaptation so far, apart from the fact that Wicked will be split up across two films that bring "even more depth and surprise" to the famous Broadway musical's story, Chu said.
In a letter he shared on social media in April, Chu explained, "As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it. As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years."
RELATED VIDEO: Idina Menzel Congratulates Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo on Wicked Casting News: 'So Much Love'
In recent months, Grande, 29, has hinted that filming will begin soon. She debuted her blonde hair in October for her transformation into Glinda, and even shared some behind-the-scenes photos with Erivo, 35, on Instagram.
Wicked debuted on Broadway in October 2003 with Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth and Joel Grey as the original Elphaba, Glinda and the Wizard, respectively. The show went on to win three Tony Awards and even a Grammy Award.
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Based on Gregory Maguire's book of the same name, the musical tells the story of Elphaba's life prior to becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (which was adapted into the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland).
Wicked: Part One and Part Two are scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas Day in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
