Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey hit the yellow brick road at European premiere

Ariana Grande said her new darker hair wasn’t about saying goodbye to her Wicked character Glinda, but rather a way to “do something different.”

The singer and actress, 32, recently swapped her signature Glinda-era blonde locks with a brunette tone, sending fans crazy on social media.

This comes as she reprises her role as the Good Witch of the North alongside Cynthia Erivo, who returns as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in Wicked: For Good.

On Monday evening, London’s Leicester Square was transformed into the magical land of Oz, with Wicked-inspired shades of pink and green and a vast yellow brick road running down the middle.

Fans came dressed in witch hats and green makeup, while others channeled their inner Glinda in sparkling floor-length dresses.

Speaking to BBC News, Erivo, who was recently nominated for two Grammys, said it felt “overwhelming” to close the Wicked chapter.

“But it’s beautiful,” Grande said. “This project will always be part of our lives. »

The sequel will see Grande and Erivo joined once again by co-stars Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum as the wizard.

Bridgerton star Bailey, 37, who reprises his role as Prince Fiyero, recently made history by becoming the first-ever openly gay “Sexiest Man Alive” in People’s history.

When BBC News asked him who his sexiest man of the year was, he had no shortage of answers.

“Jon M Chu,” he said, naming the Wicked director. “Because his genius and his compassion know no end.”

He then laughed, adding, “And because he cast me in this movie, so that’s totally sexy.”

The sequel has a romantic plot, which might lead some to wonder if Bailey was channeling his inner Anthony (his Bridgerton character).

“I’m sure I’m tapping into something that’s in my bones somewhere,” he says.

At the same time, I also had to ask him if he would ever do Celebrity Traitors.

“The answer is we’ll have to find out,” he said, pausing dramatically before laughing. “I feel like I’m already showing my game.”

When Grande recently showed off her new look on Instagram, many fans speculated that it was her way of saying goodbye to her Good Witch character.

But when asked about it, she said, “No, I think it was just a way to do something different for the second movie, and play on the darker tones, with the clothes and the beauty.”

“It’s fun,” she said, as Erivo smiled and nodded.

The sequel picks up where the first film left off and covers the years following Elphaba and Glinda’s decision to separate.

Elphaba is now an enemy of the State of Oz, while Glinda has become a public figure controlled by the Wizard.

The films were adapted from the hit Broadway and West End musical, itself based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel.

However, the musical was split into two films for its big screen adaptation.

They were filmed simultaneously between December 2022 and January 2024, with production interrupted midway by the Hollywood actors’ strike.

Wicked was the highest-grossing film of 2024 in the UK and earned 10 Academy Award nominations, including two for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

At two hours and forty minutes, the first film alone was almost as long as the entire show.

But the second film is slightly shorter, at 2 hours and 18 minutes.

Erivo and Grande’s chemistry and real-life friendship sparked several viral interview moments while promoting the first film last year, and the two jointly opened the Oscars in March with a Wicked medley.

One of the challenges facing the sequel is that many of the musical’s best-known songs, such as Defying Gravity, Popular and The Wizard And I, were in the first film.

But the upcoming sequel will feature two brand new songs, with Chu telling BBC News that the first time Grande and Erivo heard them, “they just cried.”

“It means a lot for now, even though many years later, we’re here and people can see it on the big screen. I’m so excited.”

Wicked For Good hits theaters November 21.