Wicked Director Was Inspired By One Of Steven Spielberg's Most Divisive Films
"Wicked" began its life as a playful, lore-rich 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, which imagined deep backstories and complex relationships between the characters from "The Wizard of Oz." By Maguire's imagining, the green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West was merely misunderstood and marginalized. In 2003, lyricist Stephen Schwartz and dramatist Winnie Holzman adapted Maguire's novel into a Broadway musical that almost instantly became a runaway hit. "Wicked" won three Tonys, and had since set up camp on Broadway, becoming one of the longest-running shows in the history of the Great White Way. As of this writing, "Wicked" has surpassed "Cats" in number of performances.
Due in theaters on November 27, 2024, is the first part of a massive two-film adaptation of "Wicked" directed by the venerable Jon M. Chu. Although the stage version of "Wicked" only runs about two and a half hours, Chu has elected to expand it into a "Dune"-sized event, spreading the story across over four hours of film. Likely, Universal is hoping that theater kids and Broadway nerds will flock to theaters in droves. The Wicked Witch of the West will be played by Cynthia Erivo. Pop star Arianna Grande will play Glinda the Good Witch. Jeff Goldblum is the Wizard. "Wicked Part Two" is slated for release on November 26, 2025.
Chu is an affable director who makes colorful, energized movies that highlight personality and performance. He made the excellent musical "In the Heights" in 2021, helmed the ultra-hit "Crazy Rich Asians," and authored one of the best films of the 2010s (seriously) with "Step Up 3D."
For "Wicked," Chu is taking something of a controversial tonal approach. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the filmmaker admitted that he wanted his "Wicked" movies to resemble Steven Spielberg's not-very-good "Peter Pan" adaptation "Hook" from 1991.
Wicked game
"Hook" is a controversial choice as the film's quality is hotly debated. Overall, "Hook" is silly and overstuffed. Some might say it's obnoxious. It adds a rambunctious, "messy room" energy to the "Peter Pan" story, which stands in for any sense of wonderment or grit. "Hook" somehow feels sloppy and too clean at the same time. Regardless, those who were about 10 years old when they first saw "Hook" have come to love its colorful excitement, often pointing to the Lost Boys and fun, hip characters. Many will also pause to document Rufio (Dante Basco) as a universal crush object.
Chu was born in November of 1979, which means he had just turned 12 when "Hook" came out. He was in the correct age bracket to fall in love with "Hook," and carry its strange whimsy into his adulthood. More notably, Chu wanted to use similar practical filmmaking techniques to realize a fantasy kingdom. "Hook" was made before widespread CGI, and Steven Spielberg built real ships and a Lost Boys clubhouse for his actors to occupy. Chu wanted to capture the texture of real-life sets and vehicles. In his own words:
"I want to do it the way I dreamed about it as a kid when I watched 'Hook.' [...] Behind the scenes, Steven Spielberg was on a dock with a giant pirate ship. I'm like, 'If this is my one opportunity to do this, I want to do that.'"
This is no small feat, given that "Wicked" takes place in the magical land of Oz and incorporates fantastical, colorful landscapes. Fleming's film version of "The Wizard of Oz" may have been the primary inspiration for "Wicked," but "Hook" is going to be the vibe. Thankfully, Chu didn't film his entire movie in front of a green screen.
Eff it. We'll do it live.
What's more, a lot of the music in "Wicked" was performed and recorded live on set. Most musicals pre-record their music and vocals and have actors lip-synch when they're on camera, or they'll film a live song performance and then have the performer re-record their vocals in a studio after the fact. It's rare that a cinematic musical performance will be captured live on set. That is, however, what Chu did, once his cast insisted they could do it that way:
"These are live vocals. [...] When we were shooting it, those girls were like, 'F*** the pre-records. We're going live.' [... I said] 'There's going to be a lot of wind in your air pipes. Is that okay?" 'Yeah. That's what we do.'"
It was wise for Chu to hire singers who can act and not the other way around. It's always better to hire the singer or the dancer for a musical, as audiences have likely paid their admission to see excellent singing and dancing, not acting. Too many filmmakers have hired notable movie stars for musicals without checking to see if they can sing and dance (cough cough "Into the Woods," cough cough "Les Misérables," cough cough "Chicago"). Chu, having made "In the Heights" and "Step Up 3D," knows what's required when it comes to on-camera performance. That his singers wanted to "f*** the pre-records" is a good, good sign.