Award-winning singer lands major role in new animated film after smash-hit movie success
Now, pop star Ariana Grande, 32, has been cast in an animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic Oh, The Places You'll Go! - meaning fans may be waiting a while longer for a new album.
But there's some consolation, the upcoming film will be a musical, so audiences will still get to hear her sing when it lands in cinemas in March 2028.
The project is being produced by Jon M. Chu, the director behind Wicked, so it's no surprise Ariana was tapped for the role.
She will star alongside Josh Gad, 44, best known as the voice of Olaf in Frozen.
And fans won't have to wait that long to see her on screen - Ariana is set to return to cinemas this November in Wicked: Part Two - For Good.
The epic fantasy film, based on the 1995 book by Gregory Maguire that was later turned into a three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical in 2003, hit theatres last November.
Directed by Jon M. Chu with an eye-popping budget of $145million, Wicked is split into two feature-length films, with the final chapter slated for November 2025.
Critics have already called Wicked: Part One a 'masterpiece' that 'pops and enchants on the big screen' as audiences were welcomed to the fantastical world of Oz.
The film's leads, Ariana and Cynthia Erivo, who play witches Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, received high praise for their jaw-dropping vocals and onscreen chemistry.
Film & TV journalist Scott Menzel boldly called it the 'very best big-screen adaptations of a Broadway musical ever.'
'Wicked is a cinematic spectacle that serves as one of the very best big screen adaptations of a Broadway musical ever. Jon M. Chu perfectly captures the magic of the Broadway show while adding in some of his own unique flourishes to the source material,' Menzel tweeted last year.
'Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo completely knock it out of the park as Elphaba and Glinda. Jonathan Bailey is also quite phenomenal in the film. Wicked lives up to the hype and often succeeds it.'
Menzel also teased at the time that fans of the Broadway musical were 'going to absolutely lose their minds over' one particular scene.
'Wicked is hands down one of the year's best films,' Menzel concluded.
Variety's Jazz Tangcay said that Wicked is 'much more than we could have ever expected' and that director Chu, Erivo and Grande 'gifted us a musical masterpiece.'
Tangcay continued: 'Ariana & Cynthia will blow you away. The production design and costumes are a visual spectacle.'
Film critic Katcy Stephen, also from Variety, admitted that they were initially 'pessimistic' but were happy to report that Wicked is 'a masterpiece.'
'Ariana Grande makes Glinda sparkle: she milks every moment with gusto, humor and hair flips,' Stephen tweeted.
'Jon M. Chu added so much new life to the story that I can see why it needed to be 2 parts! Well worth the 20-year wait.'
Erin Stecker of IndieWire celebrated Wicked as 'the best musical-to-movie adaptation' since Chicago (2002) starring Renee Zellweger and Mamma Mia (2008) starring Meryl Streep.
Wicked is about an unlikely friendship that emerges between Elphaba (Cynthia) and Glinda (Ariana), two clashing witches in the magical land of Oz.
Elphaba is wrongfully cast as a wicked witch as she seeks to expose the fraudulent, corrupt Wizard who rules the land.
Wicked is the origin story of 'a green-skinned woman who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.'
It serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, exploring the narrative before Dorothy's arrival and delving into the former friendship between the characters Elphaba and Glinda.
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