This story contains major spoilers for Wicked: For Good.
Jon M. Chu isn’t shy about it. The second half of his two film adaptations is where he destroys walls. literally.
One of the film’s most talked about sequences, the split-door rendition of “For Good,” was unscripted and almost non-existent.
Chu says she found the emotional form of the moment months before the cameras rolled. During early rehearsals, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande locked arms in a corner of the room and began an impromptu farewell, speaking rather than singing. When they placed their hands on the imaginary door, Chu said, “I started crying.”
“I discovered it during rehearsals,” Chu reveals. “Cynthia grabs her and says, ‘Come here.'” So where do they go? And they go to this corner and she puts her in a box or in a closet. ”
That rehearsal changed everything. The director admitted that he had forgotten to cut the call as the two stars kept talking about parting ways. Seeing the authenticity of the moment, Chu decided to tear down the wall and capture it on film.
By the time production numbers were reached, Chu argued that the physical set had to match the emotional truth. “We had to break through that wall,” he says. “They told me, ‘If you tear down that wall, you can’t use that set anymore.'” But they didn’t care. It was that moment. Break down the wall. ”
The resulting split-frame sequence, in which Erivo and Grande are forced onto opposite sides of the destroyed barrier, quickly became the emotional centerpiece of the film and, according to Chu, his personal favorite moment of both films.
It is also directly related to the title. “That’s when I knew the title of my second film had to be ‘For Good.'”
This scene also required bending one of the film’s established language guidelines. According to Chu, “Oz” has language rules that were long followed by Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the original stage music.
Wicked for Good stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.
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“You’re not allowed to say ‘I love you’ in Oz,” Chu says. “No, God, no, no, I love you.”
But when Erivo said “I love you” to Grande on set, Chu struggled to hold the line. “It was very human,” he says. “It crossed the boundaries of Oz and came into our world,” Schwartz eventually agreed.
If “Wicked” was an uptick with a bright comedic touch, “Wicked: For Good” is a downside, a darker, more political tragedy, Chu says.
Mr. Chu details his transformation into the Tin Man, played exquisitely by Ethan Slater, which he describes as “the birth of a monster” that goes beyond a physical transformation. “I’m someone who gets ignored. I’m someone who wants to be recognized,” Chu says.
“When he’s giving a speech in front of that crowd on the steps of the capital of Oz, there’s a fire and he’s voicing his grievances. He changes even more in that moment than he did when he became the Tin Man,” Chu explains.
In “Wicked: For Good,” Bokuku stands on the steps of the Capitol, with flames blazing behind him, screaming for all he has lost. Slater offered one of the transformation’s signature beats. Boku looks at Glinda, realizing he doesn’t need her anymore, and then turns to the raucous crowd justifying his growing anger.
“That’s a complete transformation,” Chu asserts. “That’s when he really lost his mind. Not when his body turned into tin, but when he realized the community was full of hate.”
Longtime fans of the stage musical have been debating for two decades whether Glinda knows Elphaba is alive at the end of the story. Director Chu says the film has answers, but he doesn’t want to confirm them.
“I definitely have some definitive ideas in my head,” he says. “But I hope everyone can interpret it however they like.”
Chu emphasizes that the power of the ending lies in both women stepping into unknown territory. Glinda chooses to try to become the good Glinda, and Elphaba steps into a new life beyond the shadow of Oz.
“It was never your typical fairy tale,” he says. “It comes from the raw humanity, and from that comes something beautiful.”
Chu recognizes that political images of misinformation, community division, and people choosing “truth” based on collective beliefs rather than facts resonate more acutely today.
However, he insisted it was not a deliberate comment.
“The line ‘Truth is not about facts or reasons, it’s just what we all agree on’ was written 20 years ago,” he says. “That’s the power of a timeless story. It always feels timely.”
Still, he admits that the world seems to be catching up to the film’s themes. “It’s becoming more relevant every week.”
“Wicked: For Good” is currently playing in theaters.
