Jonathan Bailey Joins Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo for 'Wicked' Films

For fans of the show, Bridgerton, welcome news presents itself for one of the show’s actors. It’s been announced that Jonathan Bailey fans can prepare for a wicked transformation as the out British actor who plays Anthony Bridgerton prepares to portray Fiyero in the forthcoming Wicked movies.

Variety was first to report Wednesday morning that he was in conversations to join the production. Then, on Wednesday evening, director Jon M. Chu, who is helming the films, confirmed the rumor on Twitter.

“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!!!! #JonathanBailey #Wicked,” he wrote.

Fans will have to wait more than two years to see the Bridgerton star on the big screen. The Universal Pictures movie won’t be out until Christmas 2024, with the second part scheduled for a 2025 release. Bailey will star alongside pop star Ariana Grande who is set to play Glinda, and out actor and singer Cynthia Erivo, who will play Elphaba.

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba becoming the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. The musical debuted on Broadway in 2003 to rave reviews and has run since. Various traveling productions of Wicked have toured for nearly two decades, including this winter in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center. The Broadway production has brought in more than $1 billion and is only the second most successful show on The Great White Way, after The Lion King.

Out Grammy-winning producer and DJ Tracy Young gained wide acclaim for her 2007 Flying Monkeys remix of Idina Menzel’s Defying Gravity, one of the defining songs of the show. In the original, Menzel played opposite Kristin Chenoweth.

In 2018, Menzel and Chenoweth were joined by Grande in an NBC special based on the show.