Sky has officially confirmed that Universal”s forthcoming feature version of the hit musical Wicked will be one of the first projects to film at the shiny new Sky Studios Elstree when it opens later this year.

Wicked centres on the untold story of the Witches of Oz and is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire.

Director Jon M. Chu is calling the shots; Marc Platt produces. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively.

Chu announced last month that instead of trying to condense the complex story into one feature, he plans to shoot two Wicked adaptations, to be released separately.

The confirmation came as Sky unveiled a swathe of new scripted and comedy commissions, including a third series of political thriller Cobra and a new adaptation of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Sky Studios Elstree is one of a tranche of new studios opening this year. When complete, it will house 13 studio spaces and enable £3bn of production investment over the first five years of operation.