A number of movie musicals have won the Best Picture Oscar, and it could happen again with the forthcoming Wicked: For Good. Fans are hyped for the sequel, especially after Wicked broke records at the box office and earned a number of Academy Award nominations. Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey had great chemistry as Glinda and Fiyero, but it turns out that the pop singer was nervous to meet the Bridgerton star.
The first Wicked movie can be streamed with an Amazon Prime subscription, where Grande and Bailey's chemistry is on full display. But in an interview with Time about the Jurassic World Rebirth star, Grande explained her original nerves when meeting him. As she put it:
I first met Jonathan Bailey at dance rehearsal for Wicked. I was nervous because I have always found him so brilliant—having bookmarked and memorized a few bootleg clips of him onstage in Company and The Last Five Years—but from the moment we met, I felt like I was giggling with someone I had known for 20 years. I felt so immediately safe, connected to, and obsessed with my new scene partner and friend
Honestly, relatable. As a musical theater nerd myself, Bailey's carer on the West End preceded him. But while she was originally nervous, Grande explains that the Heartstopper actor's inherent kindness made her feel at ease. And she instantly became "obsessed" with the 37 year-old star of stage and screen.
Grande's comments seemingly aren't unique to her. Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson went viral for kissing while promoting Jurassic World Rebirth, and also seem to have excellent chemistry. Bailey and his slutty little glasses have been named the internet's boyfriend, and it seems like that level of adoration also extends to his costars. I can't wait to see what goes down between Fiyero and Glinda in Wicked: For Good.
It's been fascinating to see how Baileys' starpower has grown in recent years. He became a household name thanks to his role in Bridgerton (streaming with a Netflix subscription) and also appeared in Fellow Travelers before debuting a Fiyero in Jon M. Chu's Wicked. After following up that performance with Jurassic World Rebirth, and Bailey has become a bonafide queer movie star, something that seemed like an impossibility years ago.
Grande and Bailey's friendship will be on full display in the Wicked sequel, which is just a month and change away. For Good's trailer caught up with Fiyero and Glinda years after the first movie, with the pair preparing to get married in the Emerald City. But they're both still thinking about Elphaba, so it should be fun to see this love triangle play out on the big screen.
Wicked: For Good will hit theaters on November 21st as part of the 2025 movie release list.
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