Upcoming Musical Films To Look Forward To!

Posted on
Upcoming movie musicals - afterbuzztv.com
Credit: Rosalind O'Connor/NBC

Following hit musical movies like West Side Story and tick, tick… Boom!, we are excited to see more musicals coming up!

Wicked

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are going to defy gravity with their singing in the highly anticipated Wicked movie. Grande as Glinda and Erivo as Elphaba are both already popular icons and accredited singers, Grande is a Grammy winner and Erivo is a near EGOT status. Erivo’s spectacular performance in the revival musical of The Color Purple won her a daytime Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony award. The “Thank U, Next” singer also grew up performing on Broadway and as a musical geek herself, Grande seemed like she couldn’t hide her excitement either! The filming has not begun, but the release date will likely be between late 2023 to early 2024.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande)

The Little Mermaid

Grown-ish actress Halle Bailey is going undersea transforming into a Disney beach princess! The Disney’s classic The Little Mermaid has a star-studded cast with Bailey as Ariel, Hamilton actor Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, comedian Mellisa McCarthy as Ursula the octopus villain, and Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina as Scuttle the seagull. Along with the stars, the live-action film involves a power duo of musicians with OG Disney composer Alan Menken who wrote the songs for the original The Little Mermaid and Encanto composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. Actress Bailey recently walked the red carpet at the Oscars with her sister Chloe and said in an interview that her number one favorite song is “Part of Your World.” We can’t wait to splash into a part of her world next year in May when the movie is set to be released!

The Color Purple

Oprah Winfrey’s first major acting break-out role was in Steve Speilberg’s 1985 film The Color Purple. The film later was adapted into a broadway show, winning a Tony and after nearly 40 years Oprah is co-producing the musical adaptation film, claiming, “This ain’t your mama’s Color Purple.” She has gathered a renowned group of actors as well as singers including actress Taraji P. Henson, Euphoria star Colman Domingo, Peacemaker actress Danielle Brooks, R&B singer H.E.R. and yet again Halle Bailey. Oprah believes that the revival film will be life-changing and as impactful as her experience was when starring in the original. The anticipated revival movie is scheduled to be released at the end of next year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Oprah (@oprah)

Mean Girls

That’s so fetch! Movie to musical back to a movie, Mean Girls will continue its legacy to exist in our lives. Actress Tina Fey, who was the script writer for the original and the musical adaptation as well as starred in the film, will continue her contributions with the next big step. The new musical film will excuse us to wear pink on Wednesdays and allow us to reference iconic quotes in our Instagram captions.

Matilda

Streaming services like Netflix seem to be putting more effort into expanding their film genre to musical movies as well. One stage musical adaptation that subscribers can look forward to watching at the end of this year is Matilda. Based on one of Roald Dahl’s hit books, the story is about an intelligent girl, Matilda, who is gifted with special powers. She soon becomes a school hero rescuing her and her classmates from the school principal’s cruel treatments. Cruella actress Emma Thompson will yet again perform her villainous character as the headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. Similar to The Color Purple, the book was originally adapted into a movie back in 1996 directed by Danny DeVito, then adapted into a musical and is now coming back to the big screen.

13: The Musical

Another upcoming Netflix original is 13: The Musical, a comedy family musical adapted from a broadway show. The show is famous for being the first to have only all-teenage casts and band. The musical has also served as professional debuts for Ariana Grande and her later co-star in the Nickelodeon show Victorious, Elizabeth Gillies. The musical has since then been a popular choice for high school theater productions.

Which one of these musicals are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @AfterBuzzTV!

About the Author

Avatar photo
Maria Sato

Maria Sato is a senior at Emerson College majoring in journalism, with a focus in TV broadcast. As a student journalist, she has covered stories from hard news to entertainment both in the U.S. and in Japan.

Copyright © 2021 - AfterBuzz TV, LLC.