The release of Wicked is just weeks away, and one of its leading stars Ariana Grande has reportedly changed her name for the musical film.
Adapted from the 2003 stage play of the same name – that made Idina Menzel a Broadway legend – Wicked stars Ariana alongside Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey.
Wicked follows the story of Elphaba Thropp (played by Cynthia), a green-skinned and misunderstood young woman from the Land of Oz who enrolls at Shiz University.
In the film, Ariana will be taking on the role of Galinda Upland (better known as Glinda the Good Witch), Elphaba’s bubbly and popular roommate.
And ahead of the film, it’s been revealed that Ariana will be using a different namein the film’s credits as she resumes her acting career after three years away.
Instead of going by the name she’s become famous for in pop music, the Into You singer will be going by the name Ariana Grande-Butera for her return to the big screen.
According to reports in E! the change has been inspired by recent heartwarming events in her personal life, as she has apparently reunited with her father.
Born in the Boca Raton region of Florida, Ariana was raised by her mother Joan Grande and her father Edward Butera – the pair split when the Side to Side hitmaker was just eight years old.
In 2014, she told Seventeen magazine that she had lost contact with her dad a year earlier, admitting that it took her a long time to adjust to the change.
‘[We lost touch] last year. It took me so long to be okay with it. The thing that got me there was embracing the fact that I am made up of half my dad, and a lot of my traits come from him.
‘So much of me comes from my father, and for so long, I didn’t like that about myself. I had to accept that it’s okay not to get along with somebody and still love them.’
Their relationship had thankfully been repaired by 2020, with Edward joining his daughter on the 2020 Grammys red carpet – she performed four songs on the night after being nominated in several categories.
Wicked hits UK cinemas on November 22, with the film expected to make back its $145million (£112million) budget, with pre-sale tickets hitting record highs.
Ticket site Fandango revealed that pre-sale tickets for Wicked had only been beaten this year by pre-sales for Deadpool & Wolverine, which grossed just over £1billion worldwide.
Despite the excitement, anticipation for an adaptation of the beloved musical has caused negative effects in places, with the film’s poster coming in for heavy criticism upon release.
Wulfsimmer said on X: ‘Trailer wasn’t that bad albeit washed out but I hate how downgraded the smirk is in the poster lowkey.’
‘It looks awful. Like a stare at the camera moment from the office. Like a complete mockery of the original smirk / feel of the original poster. Almost like a shot from a cheep early 2000s Disney show,’ Firebison said on Reddit.
However, a fan edit of the poster resulted in a scathing attack from Cynthia Erivo herself, who said: ‘‘This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI [we’re] fighting, equal to people posing the question “Is your ***** green?”‘
She then walked back from those comments, admitting to having ‘a human moment’ and ‘wanting to protect little Elphaba.’
The actress and singer then admitted, ‘I probably should have called my friends, but it’s fine.’
Wicked comes to cinemas on November 22.
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