The musical has found its Fiyero - and fans are loving the casting choice.
Jonathan Bailey, the (gay) man who stole our (gay) hearts in 'Bridgerton', is joining the cast of 'Wicked' as the one and only Fiyero.
The production, based on the world-renowned Broadway and West-End musical which is in turn based on 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', has already cast Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the parts of Glinda and Elphaba.
Initially reported by Variety as a potential casting, director Jon M. Chu ('Crazy Rich Asians', 'In the Heights') then tweeted confirmation that the eldest Bridgerton family member would indeed be joining the highly-anticipated production.
He tweeted: "He’s perfect, they’re perfect. They’d be perfect together. Born to be forever….. I am too excited to pretend this hasn’t been happening. We have a Fiyero!!!"
'Wicked' is the much-loved prequel production of 'The Wizard of Oz', featuring songs such as 'Defying Gravity' and 'No Good Deed', and is the very same production that turned Idina Menzel into a Hollywood star. Jonathan Bailey starring as Fiyero will see him be caught up in a love triangle between the two leads, as Glinda and Elphaba compete for his attention.
Just like the theatrical musical version, the 'Wicked' film will be split into two parts. Chu said of the decision to split the film: "As we prepared the production over the last year, it became 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. We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one 'Wicked' movie but two!
"With more space, we can tell the story of 'Wicked' as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters."
After featuring as a secondary character in season one of 'Bridgerton', Bailey stepped into the main role in season two of the period drama. He will next star in a TV series opposite Matt Bomer called 'Fellow Travelers'.
'Wicked' parts one and two will be the big Christmas musical theatrical releases for 2024 and 2025.
