Inside Wicked's MANY scandals as first trailer for the upcoming movie ... trends now

The first trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked is finally here - after years of delays, production shut-downs, changes in crew, and a slew of on set controversies that left fans wondering if the highly anticipated film would ever make its way to theaters.

As one of the longest running and most popular Broadway shows in history, it comes as no surprise that there is a heightened interest in the flick - but it has suffered a series of setbacks since it was first announced nearly 12 years ago.

In addition, it has seemed as though almost every aspect of the film has been met with immense criticism - the movie has faced fierce fury over everything from its casting and release date to director Jon M. Chu's decision to split it into two parts.

The Wicked movie has been in talks for more than a decade, beginning in 2012 when the producer of the play, Marc Platt, made the exciting announcement that he was going to turn it into a film. 

At the time, Stephen Daldry signed on as the director, and they revealed that they were teaming up with Universal Pictures and aiming for a 2016 release.

But due to a series of scheduling conflicts, the film was pushed back multiple times, first to 2019 and then again to late 2021.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, Universal announced that the film version had been put on hold once again and that Stephen had cut ties with it. 

With no director, release date, or official cast, it seemed like the beloved Wizard of Oz spinoff may never be turned into a movie after all. 

But in February 2021, it was given new life when Jon revealed that he would be taking over as director. 

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as the iconic duo Glinda and Elphaba later that year, and filming kicked off in June 2022.

But the turmoil surrounding the film didn't end there, as rumors of an explosive affair between Ariana and her costar, Ethan Slater, emerged soon after production began.

Their whirlwind romance completely captured the nation - especially after it was reported that Ethan had cheated on his wife with the singer just months after the birth of his son. 

It seemed that the Wicked movie had been overshadowed by the controversial pairing and the scrutiny surrounding Ethan's alleged infidelity.

Amid all the drama, the question arose: Will the flick be able to emerge as a success despite all the problems it's already faced?

As the first trailer for the film version of the Broadway musical finally comes out after years of complications, FEMAIL rounded up all of the mishaps that have unfortunately plagued the long-awaited movie so far.

'Another musical adaptation down the toilet': The casting was met with FIERCE criticism since some social media users were not happy with the news that Ariana Grande had been cast as Glinda

The stars of Wicked were first revealed in November 2021 - and the announcement garnered mixed reactions online.

While many people were excited over the news that Ariana had been cast as Glinda the Good Witch, others were not - especially due to her lack of Broadway experience.

Ariana started off in theater when she appeared in the Broadway musical 13 at age 15. 

But after she was cast in Victorious and her career took off, she switched her focus to on-screen acting followed by singing. 

In 2016, however, she briefly returned to the stage when she played Penny Pingleton in the NBC TV broadcast of Hairspray Live!

'I've been waiting for this movie adaptation for so long, and you give us Ariana Grande as Glinda?' one person scathed on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the announcement.

'I don't like Ariana as Glinda. I'm sorry, she's just not a great actress,' someone else said.

'Cannot begin to describe my disappointment in Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda,' another upset user added. 'Another musical adaptation down the toilet.'

'Ariana Grande being cast as Glinda feels like a parody joke about about miscasting based on celebrity status. I hate it here,' a fourth tweet read.

A fifth said, 'Ariana will always be an amazing singer and person but as Glinda she's not the right choice.' 

'I'm f***ing devastated,' someone else admitted. 'About 15 years I've been waiting for this movie to be made and THIS is the pay off? Nah mate, f*** this s***.'

'Ariana Grande as Glinda? Oh hell no. Someone tell her you have to actually be able to understand the words in a musical,' a different user stated.

Others, however, defended the Thank U, Next songstress. One person asked, 'Why are people upset with Ariana Grande being Glinda in the Wicked movie like she didn't literally start out on Broadway?'

'Laughing at people complaining about Ariana playing Glinda like she didn't start in theater,' another said.

A different social media user tweeted, 'I've said for years Ariana Grande should be Glinda. She's [got] the vocal chops and brings that star power producers want to see.'

'Hey Broadway purists, stop hating on Ariana being cast as Glinda in the Wicked movie,' someone else urged. 'She started on Broadway.' 

Ariana is a huge Wicked fan and has spoken out about her love of the play multiple times over the years.

Back in 2011, she tweeted about 'how badly' she wanted to play Glinda at some point in her life. 

And in 2020, when asked what her 'dream role' was by "Zach Sang, she said she 'would do anything' to have a chance to star in the movie adaptation.

At the time, she admitted that she had her heart set on portraying Elphaba, jokingly adding, 'I would do anything. I would stand outside of the producers' office with coffee waiting for them to acknowledge me, begging to sing Defying Gravity for them.'

Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda on Broadway, later showed her support for the casting choice.

'I love her so much, I've known her since she was 10,' she gushed of Ariana. 'I think that crown and wand are going to the exact correct person. 

'I think she's gonna nail it. Maybe some people do know this about Ari, but she's really, really funny. 

'And Glinda has to do funny and drama; she has to do it all. And sing high and sing low. And so, there's the girl. I [actually] cried when she got it.'

'It's been very painful': After years of being pushed back, production finally kicked off in 2022 - but cast and crew were left extremely 'frustrated' when it was halted again due to SAG-AFTRA strike

After years of being pushed back multiple times, production for Wicked finally began in June 2022.

But filming unfortunately had to be interrupted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

The set was shut down for a whopping four months - which left the cast, crew, and fans all immensely 'frustrated.'

Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz told Variety at the time that they had to stop making the movie just 10 days before they were set to wrap.

'It's quite frustrating in a way because we have, I think, 10 days worth of shooting to go to finish all the shooting,' he admitted.

Director Jon also wrote on his Instagram Stories, 'We were only a few days away from being

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