Wicked almost took a different path, as new reports revealed Lady Gaga and Shawn Mendes were in talks for the leading roles under Stephen Daldry's direction.
As per Page Six, the sources close to the American epic musical fantasy film revealed that The Crown producer considered Bad Romance singer for the character of Elphaba.
The sources claimed that Gaga and Daldry had several meetings to discuss the character, which was later played by Cynthia Erivo.
“They had meetings, the two of them, about the character and who she would be. [Gaga] was essentially cast in his version, and then it fell through,” the source said.
However, Mendes was reportedly in talks to play the character of Fiyero in the film, a role which was later played by Jonathan Bailey.
To note, as per Variety, Daldry, who was named the director of the film in 2016, left the project in 2020 because of scheduling issues.
In the meantime, Gaga proceeded to appear in the unsuccessful Joker sequel
But later, Jon M. Chu took the seat as the film’s director, casting Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, as well as Ariana Grande as Glenda the Good Witch and Fellow Travelers star Bailey as Fiyero.
The cast also includes Michelle Yeoh, as well as Grande’s real-life beau Ethan Slater, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.
