I’m curious if Vanessa Kirby can sing. She wouldn’t be a bad Glinda acting wise.
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Lady Gaga will probably be the front runner if she can read younger with the green paint. I don't know who they'd go for Glinda if it's Gaga then probably Seyfried and Efron as Fiyero but if it's someone younger then possibly Dove Cameron and someone like Jordan Fisher.
Gaga would be a HUGE get, and I'm sure they will offer it to her (or perhaps they already did). I would be surprised if she accepts: Her agents will want her to do something non-musical so she doesn't get pegged as "just a musical actress." Hugh Jackman had 5 years between Les Mis and Greatest Showman.
Daldry and Platt can attract stars, but with the right marketing and reviews, they won't need them. International audiences are a huge income source now, and those audiences don't won't care about American b-listers.
I really can't think of any bona fide "star" Elphaba, besides Gaga or maaaybe Ariana Grande. Glinda's an easier role to cast. I expect "prestige" names for the Wizard and Morrible (i.e. JK Simmons, Gary Oldman, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep). Zac Efron almost seems too obvious for Fiyero, and may be trying to rebrand himself with the Ted Bundy film.
If they cast older Gaga as Elphaba and Kendrick for Nessa, I feel like they'd play convincing sisters. I'd love a Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews reunion maybe as The Wizard and Morrible although they may go for a more youth accessible audience and cast someone like Jackman as the Wizard.
I really want a big star for Morrible like Andrews, Cher, Streisand, Mirren, Dench or Lansbury anyone but Streep please. I know Angelina Jolie has an affinity with Wicked she's been pictured multiple times seeing it maybe she could do Morrible.
You could pull from musical theatre for the leads and name cast the supporting to get the best of both worlds. I'd be happy to see new comers as Elphaba and Glinda.
Ugh. No Grande. No Seyfried. We need legit belters, like Gaga and Lovato, and legit sopranos like Kendrick. Could Rachel Zegler do Glinda after WSS? I would love to see Dove as Glinda too. My concern for Gaga is that she would look too old for being a college student. And what about Carol Burnett as Morrible?
All I really want is a actress with a disability to play Nessa. Ali Stroker, perhaps?
disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Ugh. No Grande. No Seyfried. We need legit belters, like Gaga and Lovato, and legit sopranos like Kendrick. Could Rachel Zegler do Glinda after WSS? I would love to see Dove as Glinda too.My concern for Gaga is that she would look too old for being a college student. And what about Carol Burnett as Morrible?
All I really want is a actress with a disability to play Nessa. Ali Stroker, perhaps?"
tbh I'm not sure if I would consider Anna Kendrick a "legit soprano", especially not for a role like Glinda, though I'm with you on Ali Stroker!
If they decide to age up, I think Gaga as Elphaba, Kristen Bell as Glinda (if she has the full range, which I'm not sure about), and Jeremy Jordan as Fiyero would be fantastic (and maybe someone like Sara Bareilles for Nessarose). A slightly less popular pick for Elphaba would be Rachelle Ann Go, which I think would be a great opportunity to include more diversity.
Though if the producers decide to go with actors closer in age to the actual characters, I would prefer to see actual Broadway stars or relative newcomers in the leading roles (Andrew Barth Feldman as Fiyero might be interesting, though he might even read TOO young, especially for the latter half of the show). They could then have Ariana Grande for Nessarose and maybe someone like Shawn Mendes as Boq if they really must include pop stars.
I do think Lin could play the role of Dillamond pretty well, and maybe even Tony Shalhoub or Hugh Jackman for Wizard (still not sure about Tony Shalhoub's actual singing skills) and I'm kind of surprised no one's mentioned Norbert Leo Butz as Wizard, but I supposed he would come second to trying to slot Idina/Kristin into the movie.
I just really don't want Zac Efron as Fiyero--pick someone like Darren Criss or Grant Gustin or Ben Platt, there are literally so many options.
Darren Criss is an option especially after his Emmy win. Diversity will be thematic too especially as it's fitting with the material maybe Keke Palmer or Zendaya for Nessa with James Earl Jones for the Wizard.
I can’t imagine Gaga being interested and they’ll probably steer younger. Although, personally, I like my Elphabas and Glindas to be on the more mature side of the age range so the second half has more weight. As long as they’re not laughable as college students, which I don’t think someone like Gaga is, then I’m good.
I actually think Glinda is the harder role to cast properly. It’s a trickier character and I don’t know of many, er, pleasant sounding sopranos in Hollywood. They’ll probably end up cutting or lowering her soprano stuff anyway, though.
Ali Stoker would be a great Nessa, but there’s the issue that the story requires her to gain the ability to walk. I suppose they could do some movie magic, though.
^^They better not lower Glinda’s songs. That would be ridiculous. Either get the right singer or don’t bother doing the movie.
They can def. CGI Ali walking. At my physical therapy sessions, there are devices that let wheelchaired people walk. Strap Ali in one during that small moment and CGI over the walker.
a lot of this is exactly how i could see it cast except they’d probably want someone more commercial as Glinda, i think Kristen Bell could actually be good in the role. Nessarose, I’d like to see maybe Anna Kendrick who has been mentioned.
I really think Elphaba should 100% be Lady Gaga or possibly Demi Lovato; there’s just not a lot of commercial actress-singers that could sing the role as written and these two are the ones that pop in my mind. i highly doubt they’ll be casting any theater actresses as much as we might like it.
Zac, Ben, Meryl and Ted would all be perfect.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
Many people here are limiting themselves to "current fleeting names".
If you really want quality you need to cast purely on quality, known or not. Steven Spielberg is changing the musical movie world at the moment. The leading ladies are unknown and extremely talented in singing and acting through notes. This will result in scenes that work better and feel more natural and this will make the movie better.
A new movie or project is a hype in itself nowadays as everybody is constantly craving for new things, so it better be good so it will stand the test of time too. The project creates stars. That is much more exciting.
Assuming they were to cast Gaga who'd be 34 when filming they would probably increase the age between Elphaba and Nessa. Lets say Nessa is university entry age at 18 and Elphaba is around a few years older in her twenties. Glinda could be 18 too and you could skew younger in casting. Fiyero is a drop out and has been to multiple schools he could in theory be be around twenty something too. That would make Gaga's casting less jarring. Of course there's options now to make actors younger look at how Marvel are doing their films with a mix of make up, lighting and digital blemish removal.
Gaga could be a safer Glinda although there'd be key changes.
Lily James is an option for both parts too I guess.