Last week, Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu teased a "secret cameo," noting that fans would be very excited to find out who had been cast as the voice of The Cowardly lion in the movie.
“Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild.”
Well, we don't have to wait until the premiere, because Colman Domingo has now taken to Instagram to announce that he will play the most nervous big cat in cinema and literary history with an Instagram post.
Domingo was rumored to be in line to replace Jonathan Majors as Kang at one point, and more recently, the actor was said to be on Marvel Studios' radar to play Professor Xavier in the X-Men reboot. We're not sure if either of these reports hold water, but Domingo has confirmed that he has spoken to Marvel about a future project.
After giving us a (very) quick glimpse of the heroes of The Wizard of Oz following the Yellow Brick Road in the first movie, Wicked: For Good's trailers confirmed that Scarecrow, Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy (and her little dog, too!) will factor into the sequel.
Matilda the Musical and Abigail star Alisha Weir is rumored to have been cast as Dorothy, but this has yet to be confirmed.
“That intersection is the place that we were first introduced into Oz,” director Chu said of how Dorothy and co. will be utilized during a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “We tread lightly, but try to make more sense of how it impacts our girls and our characters than maybe the show does. We’re delicate. We’re delicate. We’re delicate.”
Check out the most recent trailer below, along with a detailed synopsis.
Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good.
Directed once again by award-winning director Jon M. Chu and starring the spectacular returning cast, led by Academy Award nominated superstars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the final chapter of the untold story of the witches of Oz begins with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity.
Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives.
As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.