Wicked director Jon M Chu recently shared what inspired him to make Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo-starrer epic musical.
Wicked, adapted from Gregory Maguire's best-selling novel, tells the untold story of the witches of Oz. Erivo stars as Elphaba, while Grande plays Glinda. Winnie Holzman, the original stage production's book writer, collaborated with Dana Fox on the screenplay for Chu's film. Stephen Schwartz, the Oscar-winning composer and lyricist of the original musical, has adapted the score for the cinematic version. The cast also features Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, and Bowen Yang.
Chu shared that he was scared of "everything" going into making the epic musical.
"I mean, everything scared me every day," said the director. "How are we going to have [Erivo as Elphaba] fly and buy into that and feel the truth of those words that Stephen Schwartz and screenwriter Winnie Holzman so brilliantly put into this 20-something years ago? How do we stay and how do we top 'Popular' on the show that is so iconic already?" he added.
However, he had to come out of these fears.
"These things haunted us, but there [was] a certain point where we say worry is a misuse of imagination that we couldn't worry at a certain point," he shared, adding, "We knew it was in our hearts," according to People.
Every single day, Chu shared, "We talked about these things and kicked the tyres over and over and over again. So it was just about every day: How can we push ourselves just a little bit more to get there?"
The Wicked franchise, which is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, offers a fresh perspective on the well-known The Wizard of Oz characters, exploring their lives before Dorothy's arrival in Oz.
Recently, the highly anticipated follow-up to the blockbuster film Wicked has officially received a new title ahead of its release in 2025. Universal Pictures announced on social media that the second instalment will be officially titled Wicked: For Good.