Lady Gaga and Shawn Mendes were in the running for major ‘Wicked’ roles

nme.com:

Lady Gaga and Shawn Mendes were nearly cast in Wicked, it has been revealed – find out more below.Wicked – which arrives in cinemas this week (November 22) – stars Ariana Grande as Glinda, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.

However, according to a Page Six report, that wasn’t always the case.Per an anonymous source, Wicked – now helmed by Jon M. Chu – was originally set to be directed by Stephen Daldry.

Before finally exiting the film in 2020 due to scheduling conflicts, Daldry had a completely different cast in mind for two of its major roles.Daldry’s version would’ve like featured Lady Gaga as Elphaba and Shawn Mendes as Fiyero.

Page Six‘s source claims Daldry and Gaga had met several times to discuss her role, and that she “was essentially cast in his version” before it fell through.Since Daldry’s exit from the film, Gaga turned her focus to Todd Philipps’ less-than-favoured Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.