This ‘Bridgerton’ Star Just Joined the Cast of the ‘Wicked’ Movies

It looks like Jonathan Bailey is trading in his Regency wear for some Emerald City garb.

The Bridgerton star, who won hearts this past spring for his role as the moody Anthony Bridgerton, has been confirmed to be cast in the role of Fiyero for the upcoming Wicked film adaptations.

While Variety first reported that Bailey was in talks to join the cast, it was then confirmed by director Jon M. Chu, who retweeted the news article and wrote, “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.”

Chu is adapting the popular Broadway musical Wicked for the big screen, which is actually based on the first book in the Wicked Years book series written by Gregory Maguire. Both works tell the backstory of Elphaba (AKA the “Wicked Witch of the West”) and the musical focuses on the character's friendship with Glinda the Good Witch during their school years (before the events of The Wizard of Oz).

In the musical, Bailey's character, Fiyero, is the Elphaba's main love interest, but he also acts as a source of conflict when a love triangle develops between him, Elphaba and Glinda.

Last November, it was announced by Universal Pictures that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo would be joining the cast of Wicked, with the former filling the role of Glinda, while the latter takes on Elphaba.

Then, it was revealed this past April that the film would be split into two parts, in a letter that director Chu shared to social media.

In his message, Chu said the team simply couldn't “wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it.” He explained they wanted to “give [themselves] a bigger canvas” and split the narrative into two films instead.

As of now, the first installment is scheduled to hit theaters on December 25, 2024, while the second is planned for a Christmas Day release in 2025.

While December 2024 may seem a long ways away, Grande has been teasing the film with various behind-the-scenes post on Instagram. Last month, the “Positions” singer posted a slideshow of cryptic photos to her page, and the final image included a candid shot of her and co-star Erivo laughing in a room while seemingly holding their scripts.

We were already hyped for these movies, and now that a Bridgerton star has joined the cast, we're even more anxious for the adaptations to arrive.

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