Colman Domingo is the voice behind the Cowardly Lion in “Wicked: For Good,” the actor announced on his Instagram on Monday. Fan speculation had been running rampant after director Jon M. Chu teased a significant name would be behind the character in his musical sequel, and Domingo is certainly a fine fit.
“Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” were shot back-to-back as one giant production, adapting the smash hit Broadway musical into two movies. The gamble for Universal Pictures paid off as the first film last November grossed over $756 million worldwide and earned 10 Oscar nominations and two wins.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande return, of course, as Elphaba and Glinda in this Thanksgiving’s “Wicked: For Good,” which concludes the story while also threading in characters from “The Wizard of Oz” just as the stage musical does.
All three actors will be joined by Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum in the sequel.
Domingo’s casting announcement comes after back-to-back awards season runs that saw the star earn Best Actor Oscar nominations for “Rustin” and “Sing Sing.” He has also recently appeared in “The Four Seasons,” “Euphoria” and “The Madness,” and will next be seen in “Dead Man’s Wire,” “The Running Man,” “Michael” and an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie.
“Wicked: For Good” flies into theaters on Nov. 21.
