LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥 When Ariana Grande,Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu took the stage in Las Vegas last April to tease 鈥淲icked鈥 months before its theatrical release, there was a cautious optimism that the long-anticipated film would be a hit.
But when the pair hit the same stage at the annual Wednesday to promote 鈥淲icked: For Good,鈥 it felt like a kind of victory lap following the first movie鈥檚 and
鈥淭his is the third year that 鈥榃icked鈥 has closed Universal鈥檚 CinemaCon presentation,鈥 Chu said. 鈥淭hank God it worked out.鈥
鈥淲icked: For Good鈥 hits theaters in November and completes the adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical inspired by 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz.鈥 It stars Erivo as the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, who became the Wicked Witch of the West, and Grande as Galinda, the future Good Witch of the South.
鈥淲e already have our tissues packed,鈥 Grande teased, referring to the pair鈥檚 sentimental viral press tour that often resulted in one or both of its stars in tears.
鈥淚 promise less waterworks this time,鈥 Erivo added, before they debuted a short montage of footage from the film.
The 鈥淲icked鈥 crew closed out an impressive 鈥 and aptly theatrical 鈥 presentation of the upcoming slate from Universal Pictures.
Hollywood鈥檚 Oscar season brings an annual chance for actors and filmmakers to swap kudos for their artistry. After it each year comes the CinemaCon convention and trade show, where studios and movie theaters take their turn to give pep talks and pats on the back.
Universal demonstrated that any pep talk is made better with music 鈥 particularly anthemic or nostalgic songs from films old and new, like 鈥淧sycho,鈥 鈥淛urassic Park鈥 and, of course, 鈥淲icked.鈥 The studio took advantage of these and other familiar themes with a live orchestra as it made its pitch about their docket of films on the main stage at Caesars Palace.
They pulled out the stops for 鈥淛urassic World: Rebirth,鈥 one of Universal鈥檚 other biggest films of the year hitting theaters in July, with help from its stars, Mahershala Ali and Scarlett Johansson, along with director Gareth Edwards, who walked out as the orchestra played its iconic theme.
鈥淚t has been a lifelong dream to be in a 鈥楯urassic鈥 movie. For the last 15 years, each time I heard that they were making a movie, I reached out and would say, 鈥橧鈥檓 available,鈥 Johansson said.
The presentation followed a preview screening of 鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon,鈥 a live-action adaptation of the animated franchise, earlier in the day. The film, which stars Gerard Butler and Mason Thames, will be released in June.
The orchestra was helmed by Emmy-winning composer Rickey Minor, the former bandleader on 鈥淭he Tonight Show with Jay Leno.鈥
But the stunts didn鈥檛 stop at live music. When teasing his myriad horror films on the horizon, producer Jason Blum walked out dressed as antagonist Freddy Fazbear to tease 鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy鈥檚 2,鈥 which will be released theatrically in December.
To top off the Blumhouse Productions slate, 30 actors dressed as M3GAN, the artificially intelligent and sometimes hyper-violent subject of the film of the same name, danced to a rendition of 鈥淥ops!鈥 Did It Again.鈥 鈥淢3GAN 2.0鈥 hits theaters in June.
