Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes almost landed 'Wicked' lead roles

Wicked cast nearly got star-studded with serious discussions to bring Lady Gaga on board.

With the Broadway musical film set to hit theatres Thursday, a source has lifted the lid on the earlier few meetings that took place to include the Bad Romance hitmaker in the film.

“They had meetings, the two of them, about the character and who she would be. [Gaga] was essentially cast in his version, and then it fell through,” the source said.

The role of Elphaba was eventually handed to Cynthia Erivo and Gaga went on to star in the Joker sequel.

Shawn Mendes was also rumoured to star as Fiyero in the film, a role then played by Jonathan Bailey as Jon M. Chu signed on as the film’s director.

Stephen Daldry was initially announced as the film’s director in 2016 but the Crown producer exited the project in 2020 over conflicting schedules, per Variety.

This led to the final casting of Ariana Grande as Glenda the Good Witch, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, and Fellow Travelers star Bailey as Fiyero.

The musical adaptation also stars Michelle Yeoh, as well as Grande’s real life love interest Ethan Slater, and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz.