We still have a good amount of time before Wicked is finally released in theaters. However, the musical adaptation dropped a surprising teaser during Superbowl weekend, yet the buzz surrounding the film remains quite low. Wicked is actually a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, where the film follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande). The official synopsis is below:
Elphaba and Glinda meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Wizard of Oz brand is a hot one. Despite coming out in 1939, the very first film remains revenant is today’s culture. It helps that there’s been countless of spin-offs from the original film, but The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic that’s still watched to this very day. There hasn’t been any official tracking on what the opening numbers of Wicked will be, but the lack of hype surrounding the prequel could foreshadow the potential flop for the December film.
The Cynthia Erivo Controversy
Cynthia Erivo’s controversy is quite strange. All seemed to be going well for the actress before she was cast as Harriet Tubman for her biography, but some Blacks weren’t particularly thrilled about the actress getting the prestigious role. That’s because some unearthed tweets showcased Erivo mocking “Ghetto American Accent”. That’s it. There are others who didn’t want Erivo in the role because she British, but the central controversy is about words that were seemingly made in good fun.
Ervio has responded to this, but it doesn’t seem that the African American community has forgiven her that much. Erivo wasn’t a box office draw before her tweets were discovered, but it’s been notable that she hasn’t had much work in mainstream films. Harriet was actually a success at the box office, but making $44 million worldwide is not on the same level as a blockbuster film like Wicked.
The Ariana Grande Controversy
Ariana Grande’s situation is a lot more complicated. The singer’s reputation has been shattered in the past few years due to her personal life choices. Ariana Grande has been branded as a homewrecker and cheater. To be fair, she does have quite the track record that would justify those labels. It all started when started a relationship with Ethan Slater; both Grande and Slater had been in marriages at that time, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
People noticed that Grande’s relationships have either started by stealing someone else’s boyfriend or cheater on a respective partner. Big Sean is a notable name that Grande dated, but Naya Rivera was his fiancé at the time. Dalton Gomez was Grande’s husband before rumors starting swirling that she separated from him for Slater.
Grande responded with her song, “Yes, And” and the track was received well. In fact, the singer/actress lost over 350,000 followers on Instagram. She essentially rolled her eyes at the controversy as Grande felt that she’s done nothing wrong. However, it isn’t just her personal life as there’s been some professional controversy as well.
Before making it big in music, she was a notable name on Nickelodeon as Cat on Victorious and Sam & Cat. There’s been rumors that she had issues with the lead, Victoria Justice. That was slyly confirmed by both, but Justice has recently stated that the two were cool now. There was also some heat with Jennette McCurdy as well, with the actress detailing her experience in her book, I’m Glad My Mom Dad:
“Every time something exciting happens to her, I feel like she robbed me of having that experience myself. And every time someone calls me a good sport, all I feel is how much I don’t want to be one,” she wrote.
“Ariana misses work in pursuit of her music career while I act with a box. I’m pissed about it. And I’m pissed at her. Jealous of her.”
McCurdy has stated that they didn’t particularly get along. Though Grande has yet to respond to these allegations from her former Sam & Cat co-star.
Could The Controversy Surrounding These Two Doom Wicked?
Obviously, we won’t know until the film officially comes out. When it comes to personal situations, sometimes the mainstream audience doesn’t care. This isn’t related to film, but R.Kelly’s music sales spiked 500 percent after his guilty verdict. Roman Polanski had been highly regarded by film enthusiasts until the “Me Too” movement.
Even The Flash was able to make over $200 million worldwide despite the controversy surrounding Ezra Miller. The film was still a massive flop because it needed over $800 million, but that does go to show that a number of people don’t either follow the controversy or care enough to not see the film. While Grande’s personal morals are indeed questionable, neither her or Cynthia Erivo have done something so severe that warrants a good majority of the audience to stay away from Wicked.
There will be fans who refuse to see this film because these stars are attached. Heck, I could be completely wrong and this turns out to be John Carter’s level of bad. It’s certainly possible that Wicked bombs based on the leading ladies. The court of public opinion can sway the box office from time to time. As of right now, it just seems that no one is interesting in another Wizard of Oz spin-off.
Follow Us
