Wicked director Jon M. Chu opened up about casting Ariana Grande as Glinda and the important skill that she brought to the movies.

The 30-year-old pop star is set to share the screen with Cynthia Erivo in the two-part saga, which kicks off with Part One on Thanksgiving this year.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Jon reflected on casting concerns for the film adaptation and what it meant for him to find Ariana and Cynthia.

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“When you find those two, you know it’s destiny,” Jon said, adding that they had developed “a spiritual connection.”

“We’ve gone through so many journeys together,” he explained, alluding to both personal and professional examples. “That’s why it had that impact on me.”

Jon also addressed another skill that Ariana brought to the set – her expansive knowledge of the source material. He said that came in handy as the cast and crew tried to determine what parts of the musical could be cut for run time.

“Ari is an aficionado on Wicked,” he gushed, adding that she’d describe certain lines as “bible” and untouchable.

Wicked just had a huge panel during CinemaCon, which the cast attended. We’ve got all of the pics and details.

On the topic of Ari, we also got rare photos of her with boyfriend Ethan Slater.

Press play on the Wicked trailer below…