Watch: First look at Jon M. Chu’s highly anticipated ‘Wicked’

What to expect: Released on Monday, the “Wicked” first look teases how two friends, Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), turn into mortal enemies as they try to uncover their destinies in the fantastical land of Oz.

The two-part movie is an adaptation of the 2003 Broadway musical of the same title — featuring music by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman — which is based loosely on the 1993 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire. The first part will reportedly conclude with the song “Defying Gravity.”

Who’s in it: Joining Grande and Erivo are Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Keala Settle, Adam James, Bronwyn James and Colin Michael Carmichael. Holzman, L. Frank Baum and Gregory Maguire are attached as writers.

Thoughts on the film: Chu described his latest project as “the American fairy tale” to Vanity Fair. “We are in a time where we are reassessing the story of life in America,” he added.

Meanwhile, Yeoh described “Wicked” as a “glorious” film with a “spectacular” set. “You know, you walk onto the set that is so big, and suddenly you hear this, ‘Oh,’ and you go, ‘Oh my God.’ It’s the singing,” she said on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show.”

Release dates: The first part of “Wicked” is set for release on Nov. 27, 2024. The second part hits theaters on Nov. 26, 2025.