Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are returning to Oz and possibly the Oscars.
Variety has confirmed that Erivo and Grande will be re-up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for the sequel “Wicked: For Good.”
Directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holtzman and Dana Fox, Universal Pictures’ musical fantasy continues the story begun in 2024’s Wicked, an adaptation of the first act of Stephen Schwartz and Holtzman’s 2003 hit Broadway musical. The sequel dramatizes the second act, depicting what happens after Elphaba and Glinda diverge. One is depicted as the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, the other as the beloved good Glinda.
If both Erivo and Grande are nominated again for their roles as Elphaba and Glinda, they will join a very short list, becoming only the seventh and eighth performers in Oscar history to be nominated twice for the same role.
Bing Crosby won Best Actor for Going My Way (1944) and was nominated again the following year for the sequel, The Bells of St. Mary’s, becoming the first actor to win the award. Peter O’Toole was nominated twice for his portrayal of Henry II in Beckett (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), and Al Pacino was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for both The Godfather (1972) before being nominated for the lead role in The Godfather Part II (1974).
One year after winning an Honorary Oscar, his eighth career nomination, and 25 years after Hustlers, Paul Newman finally won the statue he was in competition for when he reprized his role as Fast Eddie Felson in The Color of Money (1986). Cate Blanchett won two awards for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), while Sylvester Stallone also played Rocky Balboa in Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015).
Erivo and Grande lead an ensemble that includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, all reprising their roles from the first film. Each member of the ensemble other than Erivo will be exhibited in the support category.
The film will feature a mix of beloved stage musical songs and new original numbers, including “No Place Like Home” sung by Elphaba (Erivo) and “The Girl in the Bubble” sung by Glinda (Grande). Both tracks were written by Stephen Schwartz, who also co-wrote the song with John Powell.
The first “Wicked” won major awards last season. At the Oscars, the film received the second most nominations after “The Brutalist” with 10 nominations each, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Erivo, and Best Supporting Actress for Grande. In the end, Paul Tazewell won the costume design award, making him the first African-American male to win this category, and the production design award went to Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandals.
Wicked: For Good, produced by Marc Platt and David Stone, will be released in theaters on November 21st.
