For longtimeWickedfans, the thought of a film adaptation NOT including at least a nod to the original Broadway stars —Idina MenzelandKristin Chenowethas Elphaba and Glinda — was damn near impossible. And thankfully, the film’s director (and self-professed musical fan)Jon M. Chuagreed.
But how did their extended cameos come together in the big screen adaptation starringAriana GrandeandCynthia Erivoas Glinda andElphaba(respectively)? Well, in a new interview withCinemaBlendmanaging editor Sean O’Connell, the details of how Menzel and Chenoweth’s roles evolved in the film are finally available for us normies who didn’t work on the biggest film of the year.
Needless to say, if you haven’t seen the film and don’t want to be spoiled any further, do not read on!
How Did Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth’s ‘Wicked’ Cameos Come To Be?
In the interview, starting at the 17-minute mark, Chu explained how many different iterations the duo’s appearance in the film initially had. “We had them as cameo roles at some point,” the director explained, adding that he and collaborators Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman thought, “‘Maybe they’re Glinda’s parents?’ Or, ‘Maybe they’re this or that…’ And those were all fine and good, but every time, we sort of thought about it more, [and] it didn’t feel [right].”
Chu went on to add that he wanted the women to be able to sing and act since they’re not exactly out-to-pasture elders from generations ago. “Like, they’re at the top of their game right now! They’re not like some people who don’t do it anymore,” he explained. “You want them to do their thing.”
“And I always felt, as a fan myself, if I see them in this movie, I’m going to want them to do their thing! And so we had this section already, with Wizomania. It wasn’t exactly those words. It was actually more of a ride that they go on. Wizomania was going to be almost like It’s a Small World, where you get into a boat and it takes you through the history of Oz. And it was going to be a performance that happens around them, and then (we) send you back out to the Wizard Palace.”
So Chu and the musical’s lyricist and composer, Stephen Schwartz, came in at the eleventh hour and saved the day. “(Stephen) was like, ‘Give me one night.’ And he rewrote the whole thing as a performance for these girls. And he did it, and made it so fun. And that’s where it felt like, ‘Okay, this is a great moment. A sort of a send off.'”
That said, even after the moment was shot, they waffled about how to actually showcase the women on screen. “But even in the edit, we debated it back and forth. How much to give, how much to see them. Plenty of shots. Where they bow, when they leave, where they wave goodbye, and like, ‘How much is too much for the audience?’ We wavered back and forth a little bit, and tried to find the right medium of that.”
‘Wicked’ Writer Reveals All the Parts That Would’ve Been Cut if It Had Only Been One Movie
If ‘Wicked’ was one movie instead of two, a LOT of songs and plots would’ve been left on the cutting room floor, explains writer Winnie Holzman.
Needless to say, audiences seem to agree that they pulled the moment off with aplomb, and we cannot wait to see how thisWickedstory ends when the second installment hits theaters next year.
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
