'Bridgerton' actor Jonathan Bailey to play Fiyero in upcoming 'Wicked' films
The Viscount is gracing the magical land of Oz.
Olivier winner and Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey is confirmed to be part of the long-awaited two-part film adaptation based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, which tells the untold stories of love, friendship and trust between the Wicked Witch of the West and her unlikely friend, Glinda the Good.
In a Twitter post, Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights film director Jon M. Chu confirmed they have found the “perfect” actor to play the part of Fiyero, the male lead of the upcoming Wicked films.
"He’s perfect, they’re perfect. They’d be perfect together. Born to be forever….. I am too excited to pretend this hasn’t been happening. We have a Fiyero!!!!" he exclaimed.
He’s perfect, they’re perfect. They’d be perfect together. Born to be forever….. I am too excited to pretend this hasn’t been happening. We have a Fiyero!!!! #JonathanBailey #Wicked https://t.co/meT51cGqDe
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) September 21, 2022
The Bridgerton actor also seemed to confirm the news as he shared a photo of himself on Instagram, captioning it with: “Dancing through” and a green heart emoji.
Joining Bailey are Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch.
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Chu said that they have decided to give the film a bigger canvas by splitting the film into two parts to bring more depth and surprise to the journey of the characters
“With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters,” Chu said.
On the other hand, Stephen Schwartz, the composer of the film, revealed that it will contain at least three new numbers and plans to incorporate at least one song cut from the Broadway show in the film adaptation.
The upcoming films are set to be released on Christmas Day of 2024 and 2025.
Bailey, who is known has been known for his charismatic portrayal of the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton in the Netflix adaptation series Bridgerton, is also known for his impressive theater plays that includes Original London production of American Psycho, the Off-West End production of The Last Five Years, and the 2018 West End revival of Company, for which he won a Laurence Olivier Award in 2019.