Jon M. Chu Shares Emotional WICKED: FOR GOOD Clip and Reveals Tin Man and Scarecrow Were Created Without Digital Effects
Director Jon M. Chu gave Wicked fans something truly special during his appearance at the BFI London Film Festival. Chu surprised audiences with an exclusive clip from Wicked: For Good , and revealed a few fascinating behind-the-scenes details that have fans even more excited to return to Oz.
The new footage, shown during Chu’s “LFF for Free” talk, features an emotional reunion between Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande.
The scene takes place on Glinda’s wedding day and finds the two secretly meeting after the dramatic events of Defying Gravity. In the clip, Glinda tearfully begs Elphaba to make peace with the Wizard. Before the conversation can unfold, Elphaba vanishes into the chaos as the Wizard’s flying monkeys close in.
Chu also shared a surprising behind the scenes details from the film, revealing that the iconic characters of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, formerly Boq and Fiyero, were created entirely with practical effects. Chu teased:
“By the way, wait until you see the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. These are not digital effects. These are real, physical make-up and hair and it is extraordinary. I couldn’t show you any footage here, but when you see it, know there was no room for error on it.”
Chu also opened up about how meaningful the film’s title song, “For Good,” became during production. Both Erivo and Grande deliver a emotional rendition of the beloved number, one that Chu calls “the most beautiful, emotional version of it I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“That song is about literally what they’re doing with their eyes. It’s the most covered song, it’s the song that everybody has heard many, many times and many different versions, but the advantage that we have in this is that you know these characters.”
He continued:
“The way they were singing it to each other almost wasn’t singing, it was just like communicating. And you’ve got to just let them do it and let them drive. It became like, ‘Filmmakers, get out of the way.’”
Originally, Chu shot the scene using sweeping, cinematic camera movements. But after months of editing, something felt off. “It never sat right,” he admitted, explaining that he ultimately reworked it into a much more “intimate” sequence that captured the emotional core of the moment.
Both Wicked and Wicked: For Good were filmed back-to-back in the U.K. at NBCUniversal’s massive Sky Studios Elstree complex. The first Wicked film, released in late 2024, became a cultural and box office powerhouse, earning over $750 million worldwide and scoring 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture.
Before wrapping up his talk, Chu teased his next big project: a feature film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for Amazon Studios.
“It’s something that I hold dear to my heart. It’s my favorite show, but it’s a hard one to preconceive for now and [decide] how to do it with the tone. But I love it so much and I think we’ve cracked something in there that’s really fun.”
With Wicked: For Good promising practical magic, heartfelt performances, and a powerful emotional payoff, it’s shaping up to be another spellbinding chapter in Chu’s cinematic journey through Oz.
Wicked: For Good arrives in theaters on November 21.
Source: Variety