'Wicked' director Jon M Chu talks about creating "accessibility in Oz" for disabled character
Sep 22, 2024
Washington [US], September 22 : Filmmaker Jon M Chu talked about creating a feature adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 book and the Tony-winning Broadway musical, which features a handicap-accessible Ozdust Ballroom, reported Deadline.
He shared his experience of creating the feature and said that it was "one of the most enlightening and beautiful processes" that he has gone through, adding, "You need accessibility, not just when we're on set behind the scenes, but you need to present accessibility in Oz itself."
In the musical, "Elphaba's (Cynthia Erivo) younger sister Nessarose Thropp (portrayed by Marissa Bode) is a paraplegic, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the East, ruler of Munchkinland. Galinda (Ariana Grande) ultimately enchants Nessarose's silver shoes to give her the ability to walk," reported Deadline.
He shared that the adaptation will be released in two parts, however, he wants each one of them to have its own identity.
"This isn't half the homework," said Chu. "If we were going to split it into two, we need to make sure that movie one is emotionally satisfying and by the end, you feel like that was a.... movie. I don't like movies where you leave and feel like, 'Well, I've got to wait for the next one.' This should leave you with the highest of highs and so connected to these women," he added, as per Deadline.
'The makers have recently announced the new release date of 'Wicked: Part Two', which is an upcoming musical fantasy film directed by Jon M Chu and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox.
'Wicked: Part Two' is set for release by Universal Pictures on November 21, 2025, instead of November 26, 2025.
The sequel to 'Wicked' is the second of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It features Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles.
