Exciting news! It seems that the prince has been discovered for the movie version of Wicked. In the forthcoming film version of the blockbuster popular Broadway musical, Bridgerton actor Jonathan Bailey will play the gorgeous and carefree prince Fiyero. He’ll co-star with the likes of Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.
After making his theatrical debut as a youngster in the RSC’s A Christmas Carol, Bailey went on to make his West End debut in Les Misérables as Gavroche.
Last seen in Cock at London’s Ambassadors Theatre. Bailey has a long list of stage accomplishments, but he is most known for his portrayal as the eldest brother, Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton, in Netflix’s smash Regency romantic drama Bridgerton. In Season 2, Bailey played the male lead opposite Simone Ashley’s Kate Sharma in the season’s principal romance. Although he featured in the first two seasons and is confirmed to appear in the third season, which is now filming. His chemistry with Ashley was certainly one of the highlights of Season 2, despite the fact that many people, including myself, felt the season lingered a bit too long on the love triangle between Anthony, Kate, and her sister Edwina (Charithra Chandran).
For the Wicked films, which will examine the budding relationship between Fiyero and Elphaba despite political tensions in Oz and Fiyero’s apparent feelings for Elphaba’s closest friend Glinda, Bailey will need to draw on his considerable experience with emotional desire and yearning. How about a love triangle including Jonathan Bailey and some regret? Yes, this will be recognisable to anyone who has read other Bridgerton works. Wicked director Jon M. Chu said in the spring that the production had opted to break the picture into two parts in order to properly adapt the material.
It’s possible the writers are just taking their time, but it’s also possible that they’re looking for a way to include details from Gregory Maguire’s novel, upon which the musical is based. It will be fascinating to see whether a happy medium can be found between the book’s much heavier tone and the film’s darker undertones.
As for the decision, Chu said: It became more evident that wrestling the tale of “Wicked” into a single picture without doing some major damage to it was impossible as we prepared this production over the previous year. […] To better express ourselves, we choose to expand our canvas. As the cast and crew have more room to move around, we will be able to tell the narrative of “Wicked” in its full, intended form, expanding on the depth and surprise of the character arcs of these much-loved characters. The first instalment of Wicked is scheduled for a December 2024 debut, with the sequel arriving a year later in December 2025.