Faith Logue, Contributing Writer
Super Bowl 58 was a highly anticipated event for not only the football and Taylor Swift, but also the commercials. Breaking records as the most watched television event ever with 123.4 million views and the longest Superbowl ever, this one was memorable for a plethora of reasons. With a multitude of star-studded commercials, the biggest for popular culture is the release of the first teaser trailer for Wicked: Part One featuring the first look of Cynthia Ervio as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, bringing her acting roots back
Fans speculated on X for weeks before the Super Bowl that the teaser trailer would be dropped during this monumental event. With some agreeing it would and others having their doubts, it was quite a shocker to see it as one of the first commercials of the night. Immediately I opened my phone and knew I had to live post my reaction, with my only reaction being “ARIANA IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!” As someone who loves her for almost a decade, I am excited to see her reprise her acting abilities in a serious role versus her Victorious and Sam and Cat era.
Opening with the first look at the modern-day depiction of the magical world of Oz, we can see the gorgeous Grande with her blonde hair and pink clothes – gasping at the now-green Elphaba. “You’re green,” she exclaimed, enticing a laugh from everybody at the Super Bowl party I attended. As the teaser goes on we see more of Oz, with the flying monkeys, Grande in her Glinda dress engulfed by her magical bubble, the gorgeous field of flowers (which apparently aren’t CGI but real), and even a look at Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. Also, Jeff Goldblum is the Wizard; I had no idea. Seeing something that has been talked about for years finally come to life and not just be hidden was so magnificent to watch and made me so excited for November to come.
As someone who has never read the book or seen the musical, the plot is all new to me (although I did see the original Wizard of Oz but I am not sure how that translates to here). For one, I didn’t realize Oz had a high-powered speed train – that probably would have saved the Wizard of Oz crew a lot of time and walking! As said before, I don’t know the plot, so I think it will be interesting to see how Glinda and Elphaba’s story is shown further.
Upon reading X after the trailer dropped, I saw that many people had some quarrels about the trailer – and I had to agree with them. First, it looks like it relies heavily on CGI. The high-powered train is definitely not a practical effect, and neither are the flying monkeys, Elphaba jumping out a window on her broom, or Glinda being surrounded by thousands of butterflies. It also has that modern-day film coloring to it that most people – including me – hate. Some scenes are pretty dark and the brighter ones are way too bright. I’m sure most people can look past that and enjoy the art. Hopefully the film doesn’t rely too heavily on CGI to tell this magical tale. We can all look forward to two things though: the official trailer and the iconic press tour. Wicked: Part One will be released on November 27, 2024, with Wicked: Part Two coming a year later.
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