‘Wicked’ director Jon Chu says all 'Wizard of Oz' works have come at historic shifts
“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu reflected on how the feature film might have greater meaning in the wake of the election.
“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu reflected on how the feature film might have greater meaning in the wake of the election.
In an interview with NBC News, he pointed out that Oz works have always come out during times of national change and reckonings: World War I, 9/11 and now the 2024 election. He said he hopes people can glean a message of resilience and belonging.
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ was always sort of prophetic in a way,” Chu said. “It was written at a time of America in transition. At that point, the Depression had just finished and they’re about to go into war. And so it’s always a question of about what the American dream looks like when the road ends and what are the possibilities of the next thing.”
“Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, which is loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name. The film and the novel expand on the 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its 1939 film adaptation, “The Wizard of Oz.”
Cynthia Erivo, Jon M. Chu and Ariana Grande in New York on Oct. 29. Nina Westervelt / WWD via Getty ImagesNBC News and NBCUniversal, the distributor of “Wicked,” share Comcast as a parent company. “Wicked” gives a sympathetic revision to the Wicked Witch of the West, named Elphaba, who seeks to take on the Wizard and his propaganda against her and the animals of Oz.
Rating: 5