Gregory Maguire says publishing a “Wicked” prequel on the heels of the wildly successful movie adaptation may seem like “leaping after low hanging fruit,” but it’s a story he’s been waiting to tell for 30 years.

This is particularly the case when it comes to one of two leads of the Wicked cast, Cynthia Erivo and her perfectly green skin. No, Elphaba isn’t CGI green. The actress was in the makeup chair everyday when she went to set to transform into the future Wicked Witch.

The new footage ended with Elphaba saying "I'm off to see the wizard" Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande helped show off the yellow brick road to kick off a new Wicked press tour. At CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas on Wednesday,