Fans go wild over first glimpse of Ariana Grande in new image from upcoming Wicked movie

Fans of musical Wicked have copped a first look at Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the film adaptation of the Broadway smash hit.

Director Jon M. Chu shared a few on-set snaps from the upcoming stage-to-screen adaptation and, hoo boy, has it sent some people on social media into utter meltdown.

One Twitter user said: "I'M REALLY CRYING! THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY."

A second added: "I’m going to be insufferable. I want you all to know that."

While a third commented: "I thought they wouldn’t be able to capture the Broadway vibes, I was wrong. It looks amazing."

Several others pointed out the 'first-look' images aren't exactly very clear.

One person shared a meme of Grande squinting to slam the hard-so-see images.: "'First look'. All of us: [squinting meme]."

Another said: "[The word] 'look' doing some heavy lifting."

A third commented alongside a picture of a man wearing a head torch: "Me in the movie theater trying to see anything."

Well, they are supposed to be teaser images.

I'M REALLY CRYING THIS MADE ME SO HAPPY 🫧 pic.twitter.com/0yXckIkBVy

— luna🌹 (@gngsweet) April 16, 2023

I thought they wouldn’t be able to capture the Broadway vibes, I was wrong. It looks amazing

— Alex (@tmusings) April 16, 2023

Clearly Chu didn't want to give too much away so he decided to go with the 'hard to see' route that seems to have become a thing in Hollywood recently.

For example, fans had a similar reaction to the first look at Melissa McCarthy's take on Ursula in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Loads of squinting memes were shared then, too.

Anyway, fans are undoubtedly excited about the upcoming Wicked movie, which has been wowing audiences on Broadway for years.

The film, like the play, will be based on Gregory Maguire's novel of the same name.

The book regales fans with the untold story of Galinda and Elphaba, the two witches from The Wizard Of Oz, before they met Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road.

Me in the movie theater trying to see anything https://t.co/ToWxavs8Qs pic.twitter.com/ln9t067PEk

— Joseph Lamour 🇭🇹🏳️‍🌈 (@lamour) April 16, 2023

“First look” all of us : https://t.co/5S7jkgnzUD pic.twitter.com/Xjtr61aHJq

— samuel ☁️ (@SAMYYsays) April 16, 2023

Grande will star as the ambitious and popular Glinda - her name changed slightly for the film version - while Erivo will star as Elphaba, who goes on to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West.

As well as Grande and Erivo, the all-star cast will include Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.

The story will also be split into two films.

Wicked Part I first film will hit theaters on November 29 2024.

The second film will land on Christmas Day (December 25) in 2025.