The First Full-Length Trailer for WICKED Defies Gravity

The First Full-Length Trailer for WICKED Defies Gravity

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Welcome to Today in Books, where we report on literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

Off to See the Wizard

The first full-length trailer for Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of Wicked has landed, and friends, my hopes are high. 

If it’s been a while since your last skip down the yellow brick road, a refresher: Gregory Maguire’s novel is a kind of prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that imagines the origin story of Elphaba, who grows up to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Cynthia Erivo stars as Elphaba, joined by Ariana Grande as Glinda (the “good” witch, you’ll understand the scare quotes when you watch the trailer) and Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of the school where Elphaba and Glinda meet and become frenemies.

Wicked hits theaters November 28 (Thanksgiving in the US) and looks like it could be the rare hit holiday-season family movie that is actually good. Chalamet could never.

Where’s the Prize for Books That Inspire the Best Reviews?

Miranda July’s new novel All Fours, about a middle-aged woman who meets the challenges of perimenopause by having an affair that is hotter than the hottest hot flash, is turning out to be one of the buzziest books of the season. It’s also inspiring some of the most fun reviews I’ve read in a long while because nothing takes the literati from zero to comically unhinged faster than a 50-year-old woman who speaks frankly about aging, bodies, desire, and aging bodies’ desires, and who dares to be funny while she does it. It’s been a long week, and you deserve a little treat. Self-described “square old man” Ron Charles’s review in The Washington Post is just *chef’s kiss.* Somebody give the man an award for the phrase “a bubble bath of erotic candor.”

25 Books to Get Lost in This Summer

New releases get all the publicity, so it’s always nice to see a summer reading list that mixes frontlist with older titles. Whether you’re looking for books that will transport you, teach you something, or keep you occupied all summer, or activate your sense of wonder, The Atlantic’s summer reading picks have something for you.


Find more posts like this via our subscription publication, Today in Books! Get access to our daily newsletter rounding up some of the biggest bookish headlines of the day for free, or you can sign up for a paid subscription to get additional content and access to community features.

Share this post:

Sign up
and download your free eBook.