Nobody in all of Oz could have foreseen this dream casting for Wicked.
John M. Chu recently signed on to direct the long-awaited film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. While no cast members have been announced, current Oscar nominee Amanda Seyfried, who showcased her singing skills in the Mamma Mia! films and Les Misérables, recently pitched herself for the role of Glinda, originated onstage by Kristin Chenowith, and suggested Anna Kendrick should play the lead, fellow witch Elphaba, Frozen star Idina Menzel's breakout role.
E! News recently caught up with Kendrick, who showcased her own musical chops in the Pitch Perfect films and Into the Woods, and asked if she was interested in the idea.
"Oh, these questions are always tricky to answer, to not create a thing," she said. "I mean, obviously like, Wicked is a masterpiece and a classic and it's an iconic show and that's all I'll say about that."
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Kendrick, who can be seen in the Netflix film Stowaway starting on April 22, was unaware Seyfried mentioned the Wicked casting idea to the press.
"That's so funny," she said. "I hadn't heard that, but I, when I met her in real life, she said that to me. So I was like, what are you, eavesdropping on that conversation? I didn't know that she'd said that."
Kendrick joked, "So she didn't just say it to my face to be nice."
On a recent episode of Variety's Award Circuit podcast, Seyfried, currently nominated for an Oscar for Mank, revealed that she took voice lessons over the COVID-19 pandemic and submitted a recording of herself singing Glinda's signature song "Popular" from Wicked, saying, "I've been campaigning for Wicked for five years."
For a while, she said, her dream co-star was Kendrick. "I thought that her Elphaba would be really solid, and, you know, I sing the high notes and she can sing, she can be the alto. She's an incredible singer."
"At one point, it was Anne Hathaway, too," Seyfried continued, naming her Les Misérables co-star. "She could obviously be Elphaba."
She also suggested her other Les Misérables co-star, Samantha Barks, saying the two had sang the Wicked duet "For Good" together while driving together in Los Angeles years ago.
"There's nobody else like Samantha Barks," Seyfried said. "But that was the original idea. Samantha is my No. 1. I mean, there's no better singer in the world, I think. Of course, I was not ready or Glinda at that point. But it's really fun to sing with her."