‘Wicked’ Director Jon Chu Says All ‘Wizard of Oz’ Works Followed Historical Changes

“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu reflected on how the feature film could have greater meaning in the wake of the election.

In an interview with NBC News, he emphasized that Oz’s works have always been published in times of national change and reckoning: 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’ has always been sort of prophetic,” Chu said. “It was written at a time of transition for America. At that time, the Great Depression had just ended and they were about to go to war. So it’s always a question of what the American dream will look like once the road is finished and what the possibilities will be for the future.

“Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name. The film and novel expand on the 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and its 1939 film adaptation, “The Wizard of Oz.”

NBC 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.

Born with green skin, Elphaba endures a life of discrimination until she befriends Glinda, the Good Witch, and sets out on an adventure to meet the Wizard – only to find herself considered evil again and ostracized when she rejects his request to do his magic. auctions that she finds immoral.

Chu said the musical adaptation, which premiered on Broadway in 2003, was also coincidentally released during a memorable time.

“When ‘Wicked’ came out, it was a reexamination of that,” Chu said. “It was right after 9/11 and about to go to war. This is another time when America is in transition.

The film’s upcoming release follows President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory, which Chu said amplifies the film’s message. “This is the road we are traveling,” Chu said. “And there is no yellow brick road and maybe no wizard. Being uncomfortable, maybe yelling at each other a little, forgiving each other, having a little grace for each other is the only way out.

Chu also said he was surprised by the timing of the project as it related to him.

“When this came to my office, it was during the pandemic and I was like, wow, this thing is so prophetic,” Chu said. “How does he know we will experience this? We were questioning all the stories of America, of the world. Who controls? Who says it? What does a hero look like? What does a bad guy look like?