Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman Could’ve Been Cast in ‘Wicked’
Two decades ago, the Wicked movie we know today could have looked entirely different. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair on December 20, 2024, producer Marc Platt, author Gregory Maguire, and composer Stephen Schwartz revealed how Hollywood heavyweights like Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, and Michelle Pfeiffer were once considered for the leading roles.
Back in the late 1990s, Demi Moore’s production company, Moving Pictures, had secured the rights to adapt Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. At the time, Moore was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, known for movies like A Few Good Men and Striptease. Gregory Maguire even humorously remarked, “I used to say, I can imagine Demi Moore naked and green on the cover of Vanity Fair.”
While Moore was set on bringing the story to life, the casting for Glinda was also in the spotlight. Big names such as Nicole Kidman, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Emma Thompson were considered for the role of the bubbly and glamorous witch.
Other Hollywood icons, including Whoopi Goldberg, Claire Danes, and Salma Hayek, had also shown interest in the project. Suzanne Todd, an assistant to producer Joel Silver at the time, revealed that Goldberg was particularly eager to secure the rights herself.
However, things took a turn when Stephen Schwartz, the composer behind Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, stepped in. He believed Wicked needed to be a musical, not just another Hollywood movie. Schwartz recalled, “I wasn’t going in saying, ‘Oh, let me do a musical for Demi.’ I just wanted to see if I could home in on the project.”
Despite Demi Moore’s undeniable star power and the early buzz surrounding the potential casting choices, the adaptation stalled. Eventually, Schwartz succeeded in turning Wicked into a stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2003 and became an instant hit.
Fast forward to 2024, Wicked finally made it to the big screen with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the lead roles. Released on November 22, 2024, the film has already become the highest-grossing adaptation of a Broadway musical.
As fans eagerly await Wicked: For Good, set to hit theaters on November 21, 2025, it’s fascinating to imagine what could have been—a world where Demi Moore soared as Elphaba and Nicole Kidman enchanted as Glinda.
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