Inside the Wicked: For Good premiere in London – exclusive photos

Last night, Leicester Square turned pink and green for the European premiere of Wicked: For Good.

A yellow brick road pathed the plaza connecting the landmark theatres that would house thousands of lucky audience members among the first to watch the second part of Jon M Chu’s mega musical.

WhatsOnStage were poised in the action as celebrities, including West End stars and the current Wicked stage family, and the film’s stars posed in front of pink and green flowers at the top of the carpet.

On hosting duties were Clara Amfo, who returned after doing a wonderful job last year, and Maddie Grace Jepson, enjoying a night off from making her West End debut just across on the Strand.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande took a moment to be photographed holding hands together while wearing black, which fans are speculating not only marks the darker tone of this second part, but also a goodbye to the world of Oz. Notably, Grande’s dress is vintage (sourced by stylist Law Roach) and was designed by Gilbert Adrian, the costume designer of the original The Wizard of Oz film.

Throughout the film, we kept an eye out for many more Easter eggs like that one, and you can expect to see our full report very soon – plus interviews with the team!

The London premiere marked a homecoming for Erivo, who grew up in the city and will be returning to one of its stages early next year. It also saw Jonathan Bailey back in the capital after his recent stint at the Bridge Theatre.

Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, and Bronwyn James were also in attendance.

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Inside the auditorium at Cineworld, director Chu and producer Marc Platt joked about the number of years each of them had been working on Wicked – 20+ for Platt, and five for Chu. During that time, he’s welcomed three children.

He said: “When you are directing a movie of this giant scope and scale, it can be lonely. You have to be a little bit delusional to ignore all the fear inside you and what might be said outside and just keep going. Then you realise, I have to invite more people into this to help.”

He went on to describe finding a team of talent, including designers, painters, and artists, right here in the UK. “We were running toward an illusion, this thing that we made up and it’s just light… We step forward and we all put little bricks in the yellow brick road, and by the end, you realise it’s real. I can touch the Emerald City. I can look at Elphaba and Galinda in real life. And I can see Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in real life. Then you realise that creating isn’t very lonely, you have everybody with you.”

Chu then asked the audience if anybody had worked on the movie, encouraging a round of applause for the creatives who stood in the crowd.

Erivo and Grande then entered the room to much applause, and together they signed a pair of shoes for a very lucky audience member.

“This film means the world to us. What you’re about to see is a combination of literally years of work,” started Erivo, “You’ve got people who love this work so much and love you very much for coming to see it. We hope you enjoy it and hope that you connect because of it.”

Grande added: “We’re deeply proud… We couldn’t be grateful-er, or humbler, or happier!”

Wicked: For Good flies into cinemas on 21 November.