Colman Domingo announces ‘Wicked: For Good’ role in cute announcement
Colman Domingo will see you in Oz.
The Oscar-nominated actor has been tapped to voice the Cowardly Lion in βWicked: For Good.β The announcement was made Monday in a short clip shared by both the movieβs and Domingoβs Instagram accounts, which show the Emmy winner hiding behind an adorable lion plush before the reveal.
In an interview published last week in Deadline, βWicked: For Goodβ director Jon M. Chu played coy about the identity of who heβd cast for the part in the second installment of his musical adaptation.
βMan, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lionβs voice steps foot on it,β he said to tease the then-secret casting. βItβll be wild.β
He did, however, reveal that he approached the βcelebrated actorβ β who we now know is Domingo β by sliding into his DMs.
βI was like, βItβs not a ton of lines, but maybe you have a little time. I know youβre busy. Iβll come to you,ββ Chu said about their exchange on Instagram. βHe was like, βWhy the fβ not, letβs go!β And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.β
Famously one of Dorothyβs traveling companions in L. Frank Baumβs βThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozβ and its various adaptations, the Cowardly Lion is introduced in βWickedβ as a caged young cub that is brought to Shiz by a new professor after the school bars all animals from teaching classes. An enraged Elphaba helps the lion cub escape. βWicked: For Good,β which is set years after the events of the first film, will see that cub all grown up.
βWicked: For Goodβ stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande once again as Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland, respectively, at a time when they are known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. Also returning from βWickedβ are Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Jeff Goldblum (The Wizard), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Ethan Slater (Boq) and Marissa Bode (Nessarose).
The movie will hit theaters Nov. 21.