Cynthia Erivo is looking good in green! The actress, 36, has been spotted completely transformed into Elphaba in the first photos obtained of her from the Wicked set in England, where she has been filming with Ariana Grande for the last few months. In photos obtained by the Daily Mail that can be viewed here, Cynthia can be seen walking down the famous Yellow Brick Road in her all-black witch ensemble, with her skin completely green.
Cynthia was also photographed on a contraption that will perhaps make her appear to float above the Yellow Brick Road. A body double was spotted with her at one point, and she likely filmed the flying scene that was captured. The pictures originated from the set at Hankley Common, which is located in Surrey, England. Although Ariana, 29, was nowhere to be found, the first photos of her on set arrived last week.
Ariana looked like she was made to be Glinda in the leaked photos from set, which can be seen here. She radiated “Good Witch” vibes in a lavender ballgown that featured sequin embellishments throughout. Her long, blonde hair was pulled back away from her face but styled down and curled, and a stunning crown sat on her head. She also carried a several-foot-long wand with her, which was clear and had a glittering star on top.
Furthermore, director Jon M. Chu shared the first official photos of Cynthia and Ariana as their respective characters on his Instagram page on April 16. The photo of Cynthia showed her looking away from the camera as she firmly stood in a clock tower. She also had her broom in her hand. Meanwhile, the picture of Ariana showed her in a bright pink ballgown climbing a seemingly endless staircase. “Green & Pink. It always starts with green and pink. #WickedMovie coming to you in 2024,” he captioned the pics.
The “thank u, next” hitmaker previously gave fans the first glimpse of herself as Glinda in an Oct. 2022 selfie of her side profile. The image showed off her blonde hair, which was tied back into a ponytail. Her moon tattoo on the side of her left neck was also visible, although it’s likely that will be covered for the movie.
Ariana and Cynthia’s casting was first announced in Nov. 2021, and they have both expressed their excitement since. “I love [Ariana], truly,” Erivo gushed to Variety in Sept. 2022. “She is funny and unbelievably talented and unbelievably sweet and truly working hard. We’re both working really hard together. I’m excited for both of us.”
Cynthia Erivo sings #Wicked co-star Ariana Grande's praises: "She is funny and unbelievably talented and unbelievably sweet and truly working hard." https://t.co/tyUyoDcHCr pic.twitter.com/uo5VBBU4hd
— Variety (@Variety) September 8, 2022
Meanwhile, Ariana said she thought she “passed out” when posting the same first look of herself as Glinda that her director shared. The original Glinda herself, Kristin Chenoweth, also recently revealed that Ariana constantly calls her for advice about the movie. “She said she wanted to pay homage to me but said ‘I’m really scared, I wanna make you proud’. Well, she’s already made me proud. Done. Check,” the 54-year-old star recalled on The Kelly Clarkson Show in April. “[Ariana] calls me and says ‘This is what I got to do, what do you think?’ I can’t wait to see her do it. I can’t wait,” she added.