Amanda Seyfried insists Ariana Grande was 'meant to' play Glinda in Wicked

Amanda Seyfried has insisted Ariana Grande was "meant to" play Glinda in the Wicked movie musical instead of her.

The Mamma Mia! star openly campaigned to play Glinda the Good Witch in the movie adaptation of the musical and successfully landed an audition for the part. However, she was devastated when the role ultimately went to the Thank U, Next hitmaker.

Having now seen the "fantastic" film, Seyfried believes director Jon M. Chu made the right call with his casting.

"I went hard for that, for sure. And it was a very long process. And everything happens the way it's meant to," she told People. "It's an extravaganza, which is what she (Grande) does really well. And (my kids) have been playing the soundtrack non-stop. And everything is as it's meant to be, for sure."

During her interview, the 39-year-old actress also shut down speculation that her audition tape is on social media. She explained that the video of her singing Glinda's song Popular in a silver gown was made "in jest" and posted to Instagram by her stylist Elizabeth Stewart.

"I was not auditioning for Wicked yet, but I knew it was like coming up," the Mean Girls star noted. "So I was just f**king around really, and I was like, 'This dress is so Glinda.' And Elizabeth was like, 'Do it.' And then she posted at some point."

She added that it was "truly just a fun, like, (behind-the-scenes) moment of my Lancôme shoot".

Seyfried previously said that she "literally bent over backwards" to audition for Glinda while filming her TV miniseries The Dropout and that it was "devastating" to lose a role she "really wanted".

Wicked: Part One, also starring Cynthia Erivo, was released in November. On Monday, it was announced that the second part will be titled Wicked: For Good. That instalment will hit cinemas in November 2025.