Bowen Yang was announced Friday (Dec. 9) as the latest star to be cast in the upcoming Wicked movie, and the comedian has some thoughts about it.
After Variety reported the casting news, the Saturday Night Live star took to social media to share a photo of “Galinda” — the birth name of the Good Witch before she rebrands herself as “Glinda” in the musical — written on a whiteboard in pink marker and surrounded by a giant heart. “What the f— is a ‘hoi polloi’????” he wrote in the caption, referencing the bougie phrase found in the lyrics of “One Short Day,” which documents the leading ladies’ very first razzle-dazzle-filled trip to the famous Emerald City.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — who are playing Glinda and Elphaba, respectively — were quick to jump in the comments of Yang’s post, with the pop star writing, “I love you so much” and the Broadway actress sending her congratulations in the form of a bunch of green hearts and loving face emojis.
According to Variety, the SNL breakout will play a classmate of the two famous witches at Shiz University. Also joining the big-screen adaptation are Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s wheelchair-bound younger sister Nessarose, Aaron Teoh as Avaric, Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik and The Greatest Showman‘s Keala Settle as a new character named Miss Coddle.
Aside from Grande and Erivo, the star-studded cast also includes Bridgerton heartthrob Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Broadway veteran Ethan Slater as Boq, and the newly announced Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible with director Jon M. Chu.
Check out Yang’s amusingly in-the-know reaction to his Wicked casting news below.
