The Wizard of Oz cinematic universe is not something that many people think about (because it doesn’t exist) but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to eventually exist one day, so now is the time to get ahead on casting the next generation of franchise stars in the upcoming series! The James Franco Oz movie does not count, sorry.
John M Chu’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Wicked just added experienced multiverser Michelle Yeoh to the cast to round out her impeccable year of films. Yeoh will portray Madame Morrible, the headmistress at Shiz University, a place they could rename but have seemingly chosen not to. Morrible is a quirky character who is known to talk to inanimate objects, so that will be fun! Glinda and Elphaba both meet at Shiz for the first time before embarking on their tumultuous relationship. Then Dorthy shows up somewhere in there, presumably.
Yeoh had a monumental year after starring in the unexpected hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, which singlehandedly revitalized the craft googly-eye industry. In about 15 years when there are seven more Wicked installments and a theme park based on the franchise, this will go down as a key moment in history.
Filming begins next month, as Yeoh will join Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblookm, and Jonathan Bailey in the adaptations, which will be released in two parts in December 2023 and 2024, respectively. Casting news for Toto the dog has not yet been announced.
