As Wicked makes the long-awaited leap from the stage to the screen, Ariana Grande is contemplating a return to her roots.
The 2x Grammy winner recently opened up about the “healing” experience of portraying Galinda Upland in director Jon M. Chu‘s adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which made her consider “reconnecting” with her love of theater.
“I’m gonna say something so scary. It’s gonna scare the absolute s— out of my fans and everyone, but I love them and they’ll deal, and we’ll always be here,” she said on Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ The Bodybuilders podcast.
“I’m always gonna make music. I’m always gonna go onstage, I’m always gonna do pop stuff, I pinky promise,” noted Grande. “But I don’t think doing it at the rate I’ve been doing it for the past 10 years is where I see the next 10 years.”
In 2008, Grande made her Broadway debut at age 15 in the musical 13. She then went on to star in the Nickelodeon series Victorious and its spin-off Sam & Catbefore releasing her debut studio album Yours Truly in 2013.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Wicked.
Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection
“I think I love acting. I love musical theater,” explained Grande. “I think reconnecting with this part of myself who started in musical theater and who loves comedy, and it heals me to do that, finding roles to use these parts of myself, and put them in little homes and characters.”
Wicked follows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Grande) as they first meet at Shiz University and share a life-changing encounter with the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).
Chu was tapped to direct the Universal adaptation back in 2021. The first Wicked installment premieres Nov. 22, 2024, with the second following on Nov. 21, 2025.
