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EXCLUSIVE: Wicked Director Jon M. Chu’s Vision That Guided the Entire Film: “Good is Not Good…”
Wicked exclusively hits the big screen Friday, November 22.
On its surface, Wicked seems like a standard prequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. Upon further inspection, however, the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, the long-running Broadway musical it inspired, and the upcoming film adaptations from Universal Pictures turn out to be an ingenious subversion of everything fans think they know about the hydrophobic, broom-riding villain known as the Wicked Witch of the West. In this interpretation of the classic material, the Witch (real name: Elphaba Thropp) was tarred and feathered throughout Oz for the crime of defying the Wizard, who wanted to abuse her magical prowess for selfish reasons.
Wicked is all about playing with audience expectations, particularly their long-established notions of good and evil, and director Jon M. Chu really wanted to drive that home via his two-part film adaptation of the acclaimed stage production. "We always approach a script on an emotional level," cinematographer Alice Brooks, who has known and collaborated with Chu since their days at USC film school over 20 years ago, recently told NBC Insider. "We talk about emotional beats and themes and humanity on a very basic level. Those are our very early discussions."
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Jon M. Chu's vision for Wicked that guided the look of the entire movie
"He said to me, ‘Light in this movie is not light and darkness is not darkness. Good is not good and evil is not evil,'" Brooks continued. "I went to bed and that kept seeping into my mind over the course of prep. I had this idea where the sun would always rise for Glinda [Ariana Grande] and set for Elphaba [Cynthia Erivo]. And so, you meet Glinda in this big bubble that’s backlit and that was in the script. But there were other [moments] where the time of day wasn’t scripted and I asked Jon if I could suggest time of day differences that weren’t in the script ... He went with a lot of them, which was really amazing."
During "Popular," for instance, "there’s a big long sunrise ... where the sun actually becomes [Glinda's] spotlight," Brooks explained. For "I'm Not That Girl," which is sung just after Elphaba and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) run off with the caged lion cub with the intention of setting it free, pay attention to the light and you'll notice "the sun dipping down in the background."
The same goes for the movie's last 40 minutes. "From Wizomania to the end of the movie, is all one long continuous sunset," the cinematographer teased, confirming that Wicked Part One does indeed close out with "Defying Gravity," the most famous song from the original Broadway musical. "It gave me a way to bring theatricality into the lighting," Brooks concluded. "I wanted to honor the stage musical as well and make sure there was a theatrical experience. There are thousands and thousands of lighting cues in our movie that are all very subtle because they’re all grounded and based in nature."
RELATED: Why Cynthia Erivo Thought She Had No Chance at Elphaba Role in Wicked Film Adaptation
How can you watch Wicked in theaters?
Wicked will begin to defy gravity in theaters everywhere Friday, November 22. Click here to pick up tickets for yourself and the whole family! The film is rated PG "for some scary action, thematic material and brief suggestive material."
The direct sequel — Wicked Part Two — is set to follow on November 21, 2025.
Suddenly in the mood for some Oz-universe fun? Simply follow the Yellow Brick Road to Peacock and check out The Steam Engines of Oz, Emerald City, and Tin Man.
