‘Wicked’ Star Cynthia Erivo Gushes Over Working With Ariana Grande in Movie Musical: ‘I Love Her, Truly’

In Disney+’s live-action remake of “Pinocchio,” Cynthia Erivo stars as the Blue Fairy, who brings the title character to life and sings the iconic song “When You Wish Upon a Star.” Next, Erivo will star in another high-profile adaptation: the film version of beloved Broadway musical “Wicked.”

Erivo is set to play Elphaba in the movie musical alongside Ariana Grande, who will portray Glinda. While walking the red carpet for “Pinocchio” on Wednesday night at its Los Angeles premiere, Erivo told PvNew‘s Marc Malkin what it’s been like working with Grande thus far.

“I love her, truly,” Erivo gushed. “She is funny and unbelievably talented and unbelievably sweet and truly working hard. We’re both working really hard together. I’m excited for both of us.”

Erivo also shared her reaction to the adaptation being split into two parts — due 2024 and 2025 — which was announced in April. “I was like, ‘Well alright then, I guess we’ve got our work set ahead of us.’ It’s full on,” Erivo said. “And kind of exciting, because it means that we have more of the story to tell — more room, more real estate to tell these two stories.”

As for “Pinocchio,” which premieres on Disney+ Sept. 8, Erivo said playing the Blue Fairy was a “full-circle moment” for her.

“She’s a fairy in the fullest way,” Erivo said. “You don’t get to do that kind of thing very often, so to be able to play her and look like that was really just special. Like, the little girl in me was jumping up and down inside. I was really, really pleased.”