The beloved musical theater production Wicked is finally flying to the big screen, with lead roles filled by award-winning performers Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The stars of the film have been eager to share the process so far, and to share their joy with fans at being cast in the movie adaption.

Grande is probably as well known as they get — both in the music world, and for her role in Nickelodeon’s Victorious as ditzy Cat Valentine. She first starred on Broadway when she was 15 years old as Charlotte in the musical 13, and went on to play Penny in Hairspray Live! back in 2016. The pop princess will be taking on the role of Glinda the “good” witch, opposite Erivo’s “wicked” witch, Elphaba. Erivo has plenty of stage and screen experience under her belt, as well as various accolades for her acting and singing, including a Grammy and Tony awards, and an Oscar nomination.

Despite rehearsals not yet being underway, the actresses have reached out to share congratulations and express their excitement at working together; they also posted on Instagram, showing flowers they sent to one another, and even sharing screenshots of a video call.

On working with Grande, Erivo spoke to ET saying, “I can tell you that Ariana is wonderful. The two of us are really starting to find our feet and find our relationship and really enjoy one another’s time and space and conversations” continuing, “she’s the sweetest person.” It’s a good thing the two share one another’s overt enthusiasm, as the actress went on to say, “I think it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. I think we’re going to enjoy the magic of it. We’re going to try and put our own spin on what we know already and show you a story about two women [who] are sisters.” 

Erivo and Grande have also been in communication with director Jon Chu, who directed one of the hit rom-coms of the decade, Crazy Rich Asians, and more recently, the film adaption of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical In The Heights. Hopefully, the global smash is in good hands, and Chu can deliver magic for movie audiences. “Jon Chu is excited, very, very excited. He’s working very hard,” Erivo added.

Erivo also gave a glimpse into the schedule, telling ET, “We go into rehearsals in July, and then it’s off to the races. It’s starting, people!” The finished film may not hit cinemas until 2023 or even 2024, though, so for those of you desperate for gravity-defying entertainment, I suggest a night of live theater!

Paramount’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation just got hotter with the release of its latest trailer. The trailer hit the web with an introduction by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who is starring in the sequel. At Cinema Con, which is being held in Las Vegas, director Jon Chu referred to Johnson as “franchise Viagra” – not a bad way to describe the actor who is lending his star power to more than one franchise these days. This time around, we get to see more of how Johnson and co-star Bruce Willis will be involved in the film. From the looks of things, now that Cobra has infiltrated the White House, things are going to get messy. From the lack of Channing Tatum after the first 20 seconds of the trailer, things are not looking good for our favorite G.I. Joe. Could this be a big time spoiler or just a ploy to keep fans guessing? Check out the trailer for yourself and let us know your thoughts in our comments section. G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theaters on June 29, 2012! Sorry, this video is currently unavailable.

Dwayne Johnson (aka “The Rock”) might the G.I. Joe sequel as heavy machine gunner “Roadblock.” According to Deadline, Johnson is in talks to  Paramount’s “overhauled sequel” G.I. Joe: Cobra Strikes, set to be directed by Jon Chu (Step Up 3D). Johnson is flying high off Fast Five’s box office success, and is already rumored to have a role in the sixth instalment. He might turn into action franchise gold, if G.I. Joe 2 does well. After some family-oriented film choices, Johnson’s action career hasn’t quite been stellar. Now that his involvement in the Fast and the Furious franchise has been credited with part of its surprising performance, I’m sure he’ll be seeing plenty of Hollywood action. What surprises me (and disappoints) is that the Star Trek sequel set for a summer 2012 release will be scratched, and replaced by this G.I. Joe sequel. I don’t understand why Paramount would push back a sequel to the popular and well-done Star Trek for a sequel to the dismally forgettable 2009 G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra. This looks to be a re-vitalization of the G.I. Joe franchise, as a new collection of characters has been announced. No one from the original installment is set to come back as of now, except Channing Tatum as “Duke”. If there has to be a G.I. Joe 2, here’s hoping it doesn’t suck balls like the first one.

Jon Chu has been chosen to direct G.I. Joe 2. Yup, that’s right, the guy who just made a ton of money for Paramount directing the Bieber movie, has been chosen by the studio to direct G.I. Joe 2. As for cast , apparently no one is signed on yet but the studio will likely go after Channing Tatum first. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the cast returned. The first film made a cool $300 million and I’m sure this one will follow in the same path. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra wasn’t a good film, by any means. But it did provide enough mindless action to make it worth the price of ission, or so I thought. Put it this way, I’ve seen worse. With Chu behind the camera for the sequel, I don’t have any false hopes. I realize it will be worse or equal to the first. Will it still pull in a ton of money? You bet!