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Did Lady Gaga And Shawn Mendez Nearly Bag Roles In Wicked? Here’s What Reports Claim
Lady Gaga and Shawn Mendez had almost bagged roles in the Wicked movie. However, the reports claim that the previous director taking an exit from the project brought in a change in the cast as well.
Ariana Grande starrer Wicked has been one of the highly anticipated films of the year. While the fans look forward to watching the bond between Grande and Cynthia Erivo unravel on the big screen, reports claim that the actresses weren’t the first choice for the roles of Glinda and Elphaba.
According to Page Six, the movie was to be directed by the English filmmaker Stephen Daldry. The director is known for his work in the critically acclaimed series, The Crown.
Daldry was to take the director’s chair and had chosen Lady Gaga to play the role of Elphaba and Shawn Mendez was chosen to portray the character of Fiyero Tigelaar.
Gaga and the filmmaker also met a couple of times to discuss the role. According to a source close to the actress-singer, “They had meetings, the two of them, about the character and who she would be. [Gaga] was essentially cast in his version, and then it fell through.”
Daldry had announced in the public domain that he would be coming out with the fantasy film but stepped out of the project in 2020 after having schedule issues. Soon after, the Bad Romance singer went on to star in the 2024 sequel of Joker, alongside Joaquin Phoenix.
To not let the project shut down completely, Jon M. Chu stepped in, and he chose Erivo to play Elphaba, and Jonathan Bailey stepped in Mendez’s shoes.
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Additional cast members include Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater, and Jeff Goldblum, among others.
As the actresses have been promoting the film across the States, Erivo revealed that she couldn’t be happier to share the screen alongside Grande.
In an interview with the media portal, the Harriet actress revealed, “She and I were like, we have to work together. So, on the days when we need to say a couple of no’s, we take turns. ‘You say no sometimes. I say no sometimes.’ We built like a real partnership... between the two of us.”
Wicked will hit theaters on November 22.
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