'Wicked' director Jon Chu says all the Oz works have come at big historical shifts

“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.”

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 embarks on an adventure to meet the Wizard — only to find herself branded as evil and ostracized once again when she rejects his request to do his magical biddings she finds immoral.

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

“When ‘Wicked’ came around, it was a re-examination of that,” Chu said. “That was right after 9/11 and about to go into war. So another time where America is in transition.”

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

Chu also said he was surprised by the project’s timing when it came to him.

“When this came to my desk, it was during the pandemic and I felt like, wow, this thing is so prophetic,” Chu said. “How does it know that we would be going through this? We were questioning all the stories of America, of the world. Who’s in control? Who’s telling it? What does a hero look like? What does a villain look like?”