Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo tease new 'Wicked: For Good' footage during
CinemaCon victory lap
[April 03, 2025]
By KRYSTA FAURIA
LAS VEGAS (AP) — When Ariana Grande,Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M.
Chu took the stage in Las Vegas last April to tease “Wicked” months
before its theatrical release, there was a cautious optimism that the
long-anticipated film would be a hit.
But when the pair hit the same stage at the annual CinemaCon convention
Wednesday to promote “Wicked: For Good,” it felt like a kind of victory
lap following the first movie’s critical acclaim and box office success.
“This is the third year that ‘Wicked’ has closed Universal’s CinemaCon
presentation,” Chu said. “Thank God it worked out.”
“Wicked: For Good” hits theaters in November and completes the
adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical inspired by “The Wizard
of Oz.” It stars Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, who became
the Wicked Witch of the West, and Grande as Galinda, the future Good
Witch of the South.
“We already have our tissues packed,” Grande teased, referring to the
pair’s sentimental viral press tour that often resulted in one or both
of its stars in tears.
“I promise less waterworks this time,” Erivo added, before they debuted
a short montage of footage from the film.
The “Wicked” crew closed out an impressive — and aptly theatrical —
presentation of the upcoming slate from Universal Pictures.
Hollywood’s Oscar season brings an annual chance for actors and
filmmakers to swap kudos for their artistry. After it each year comes
the CinemaCon convention and trade show, where studios and movie
theaters take their turn to give pep talks and pats on the back.
Universal demonstrated that any pep talk is made better with music —
particularly anthemic or nostalgic songs from films old and new, like
“Psycho,” “Jurassic Park” and, of course, “Wicked.” The studio took
advantage of these and other familiar themes with a live orchestra as it
made its pitch about their docket of films on the main stage at Caesars
Palace.
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Jon M. Chu, from left, director of the upcoming film "Wicked: For
Good," Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo, cast members of the
upcoming film "Wicked: For Good," appear onstage during the
Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon on
Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP
Photo/Chris Pizzello)
 They pulled out the stops for
“Jurassic World: Rebirth,” one of Universal’s other biggest films of
the year hitting theaters in July, with help from its stars,
Mahershala Ali and Scarlett Johansson, along with director Gareth
Edwards, who walked out as the orchestra played its iconic theme.
“It has been a lifelong dream to be in a ‘Jurassic’ movie. For the
last 15 years, each time I heard that they were making a movie, I
reached out and would say, ’I’m available,” Johansson said.
The presentation followed a preview screening of “How to Train Your
Dragon,” a live-action adaptation of the animated franchise, earlier
in the day. The film, which stars Gerard Butler and Mason Thames,
will be released in June.
The orchestra was helmed by Emmy-winning composer Rickey Minor, the
former bandleader on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
But the stunts didn’t stop at live music. When teasing his myriad
horror films on the horizon, producer Jason Blum walked out dressed
as antagonist Freddy Fazbear to tease “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,”
which will be released theatrically in December.
To top off the Blumhouse Productions slate, 30 actors dressed as
M3GAN, the artificially intelligent and sometimes hyper-violent
subject of the film of the same name, danced to a rendition of
“Oops!…I Did It Again.” “M3GAN 2.0” hits theaters in June.
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