Amanda Seyfried has suggested she didn’t feel wholly “appreciated” after auditioning numerous times to play Glinda in Wicked.

In a new interview with Radio Times, promoting her new religious musical The Testament Of Ann Lee, the Oscar nominee was asked about Wicked, and whether she was “over” auditioning six times for the role that eventually went to Ariana Grande.

“Everything happens for a reason,” she responded.

The Mamma Mia! star has been transparent about the hard work that went into auditioning for the role of Oz’s iconic good witch, and admitted there was one thing about the process that left a sour taste in her mouth.

“I wasn’t sad I didn’t get it, but I guess I wish it had been communicated to me in a better way. I don’t like to be in the dark about things,” she continued. “I like to feel appreciated.”

Amanda had previously told Backstage’s In the Envelope podcast that she had auditioned six times for Jon M Chu’s musical adaptation.

“I loved it. I was busy. I barely had time to do it, but I made it work. I worked my ass off for years and years and years on that music. I’m competitive… with myself in a really healthy way,” she explained.

Despite feeling underappreciated when auditioning for the role, it didn’t stop her family from loving the film and Ariana’s performance.

“It’s an extravaganza, which is what [Ariana] does really well. And [my kids] have been playing the soundtrack nonstop. And everything is as it’s meant to be for sure,” she told People last year.

Amanda first revealed she auditioned to play Glinda in 2022, telling Backstage that she had her sights set on musicals after disliking how she sounded in 2013’s Les Misérables.

“I think it taught me how far I’ve come as a singer, which I really wanted to prove. Because ever since Les Mis’ I was like, ‘I need to be better. I need to do better’. So whatever comes next in terms of musicals, I’m finally prepared,” she said.

While she may not have travelled to Oz with Wicked, she has been critically praised for her role as Ann Lee, the real-life originator of the Shakers’ religious movement in Mona Fastvold’s The Testament Of Ann Lee.

The Testament Of Ann Lee is out in UK cinemas now.

Wicked: For Good might not be the last audiences see of Oz.

Since the musical sequel’s release last year, there have been talks of another skip down the yellow brick road, with those behind the scenes aiming to expand the universe with more world-building films.

Donna Langley – the chair of NBCUniversal Entertainment, the production company behind the musical films – has hinted that after the critical and box office success of the first two Wicked films, there may be more left to explore of the world.

“It’s very early days on Wicked but we are hopeful that after the amazing success that we’ve seen with the two movies, there are other ways that we could branch out with the world-building,” she told Variety.

Langley added that she and her fellow executives at Universal are discussing future franchise plans with their “rights holders and in conjunction with them”, to ensure they only include the characters and stories they already own the rights to within the world of Oz.

When Wicked was released in 2024, it became a box-office smash and a global sensation, grossing nearly £600 million and earning 10 Academy Award nominations.

The sequel, Wicked: For Good, followed a year later, and although it was met with mixed reviews from critics and snubbed at the Oscars, the film still grossed £390 million, so it was only a matter of time before the producers would want to capitalise on the film’s success.

Langley isn’t the only person hinting at expanding the world of Wicked.

The original Wicked stage musical’s composer, Stephen Schwartz, and his long time collaborator, Winnie Holzman have long been teasing a new project set in the same universe.

“It’s under wraps and we can’t say too much,” the three-time Oscar winner who worked on the musical and big-screen adaptations told YouTuber Ryan Jay in November 2024.

As part of a more recent interview with The Ankler, the musician hinted at what future projects could be about.

“Winnie Holzman and I are doing some work right now on ideas that aren’t a sequel to Wicked – because I think the Glinda and Elphaba story feels complete – but there are other aspects that could be explored,” he explained.

“But there’s another idea that Winnie and I are discussing: not a sequel, but an adjunct. Let me put it that way.”

The Wicked musical, on which the films are based, is adapted from the novels by Gregory Maguire.

While the events of his novel differ from those of the stage play, the sequels have the potential to be adapted by the studio. Maguire’s second book takes place a decade after the events of Wicked and focuses on Elphaba and Fiyero’s son.

The Wicked book series also includes two further sequels, A Lion Among Men and Out Of Oz, as well as two prequels focusing on Elphaba and Glinda’s childhood in Oz.