Movie musicals are a tried and true genre, with plenty of titles winning the Oscar for Best Picture. One of the most highly anticipated musical flick coming to theaters is Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, which will be split into two different movies. The Crazy Rich Asians director assembled a stellar group of actors to bring Oz to life, with Jonathan Bailey playing leading man Fiyero. Bailey was filming two other projects (including Bridgerton) at the same time as Wicked, and I need a nap just hearing about his schedule.
The cast of Wicked is stacked, with Bridgerton favorite Jonathan Bailey tasked with singing alongside both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. As if that wasn’t challenging enough, he was also filming both Bridgerton and the new series Fellow Travelers at the same time. The latter saw him acting opposite Matt Bomer, who spoke to Jess Cagle on a Sirius XM video about the work ethic he observed. In Bomer’s words:
There was one day when the trailer, it was an off day. We were like doing a promo shoot or something and the trailer was shaking, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?” because we shared a trailer and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ He was like, ‘I was practicing my choreography for Wicked.’ I was like, ‘This is amazing.’ It’s such a testament to Johnny’s talent that he was so in that world and so invested in that world, then so invested in Bridgerton, but then showed up in such a profound way for Fellow Travelers too. You would never know that he was shooting three things at the same time.
Is anyone else exhausted? Film sets are notoriously grueling places, with long hours and exhausting night shoots. So it’s almost impossible to imagine Bailey working on three different projects at once. Because even as he was working on Fellow Travelers, he was brushing up on all things Wicked.
Overall, it sounds like the Bridgerton actor was really working his butt off in the upcoming movie musical. Case in point: Bailey filmed Wicked scenes by himself during the strike, including acting opposite body doubles. Later during that same conversation, Jonathan Bailey spoke about his own experience filming three projects are once, offering:
That’s very kind of you to say. I mean, I think at the end of it, I left at 4:00 AM I think on a Saturday morning and it was for a scene in the shower in episode six and I left and I was on set I think at a regency ball within 18 hours playing Antony Bridgeton and I think at that point, I didn’t really have space to grieve because sometimes you do. I think with this sort of story and the characters that we play, I was so moved by it and I remember at the end, I’m not someone who usually give speeches or feels comfortable with speeches in any way, but I really felt that I was gonna say something at the end of the shoot, but it was like 4:30 in the morning and the crew were desperate to go home and I’d lost my voice because I’d been screaming in the shower and I was just like, ‘I just want to say it’s been extraordinary.’
I definitely need a nap now. Despite his busy schedule, Bailey seems to really appreciate working on such outstanding projects… even if they were at the same time. Fans are eager to see him back in Bridgerton Season 3, after his character seemingly got his happy ending last season.
Anticipation for the Wicked movie is definitely growing, and fans are eager to finally see the first footage. Hype around the musical blockbuster is also increasing because of drama behind the scene, specifically Ariana Grade’s relationship with co-star Ethan Slater. They say there’s no such thing as bad press, so we’ll have to see how the pair of movies ultimately fare at the box office.
The first Wicked movie is currently expected to arrive in theaters on November 27th, 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.