Ariana Grande went full method on her Glinda wardrobe â off camera, before she even had the role!
In a PEOPLE-exclusive clip from the Wicked digital home release, available now, the 31-year-old actress and singer admits that she âhad a little portion of my closet that was all just little pink tops and stuff, just in caseâ she landed the role of a lifetime.
âI was like, âWhat underwear would Glinda wear today?â â Grande jokes.
The two-time Grammy winner has not been shy in the past about what she has long called a dream role for her in Glinda, and says in the clip with a laugh, âI had been chasing [producer] Marc Platt down for about 10 years, wondering when this movie was going to happen, when I would have the opportunity to audition.â
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âAs soon as I heard that maybe in a few months they might start seeing people, I was like, âGreat! Nowâs the time Iâm starting,â â Grande adds.
She also recalls details of her âfirst auditionâ that ultimate led to her casting in the musical film, including that she sang not only âNo One Mourns the Wickedâ and âPopularâ but also the Elphaba-led songs âDefying Gravityâ and âThe Wizard and I.â
âWeirdly, strangely, I sang for both [Glinda and Elphaba],â Grande says of the roles that went to her and costar Cynthia Erivo, respectively. âI donât know why â I think we all kind of knew why I was going in, and it was for Glinda.â
âI love Elphaba, but you know,â she quips.
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Director Jon M. Chu also appears in the clip, and says he was fully aware before casting Grande that she âwas publicly out there saying she always wanted this role.â
And at first, he was hesitant, explaining, âIn my head, I was like, âWeâre never giving this to Ariana Grande. Thatâll take over the movie â [itâll be] about Ariana Grande.â â
But the filmmaker, 45, changed his tune pretty quickly once he saw what she had to offer.
âEvery time she came in, she was an Ari that Iâd never seen before. And every time she left, she was the most interesting person,â he adds.
Wicked is now available to purchase or rent on digital, with preorders also available for the filmâs release on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD, out Feb. 4, 2025.
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