Jon M. Chu on the Creative Courage Behind ‘Wicked: For Good,’ Building Trust, Breaking Walls and Leading a Family Through Oz

Key Highlights

• Chu did not simply direct “Wicked: For Good.” He governed a small nation.
• For five years, he lived inside L.
• Frank Baum’s universe — shaping two films, welcoming three new children, and guiding an army of actors and craftspeople through one of the decade’s most scrutinized adaptations.
• Yet when Chu speaks now, he avoids talk of scale, spectacle or box office.
• Instead, he returns to responsibility, trust and the emotional architecture required to shepherd a story as fiercely protected and beloved as “Wicked.” Related Stories ‘100 Nights of Hero’ Review: A Mischievous Fairytale Laid Low by Its Withheld Approach 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' Review: The Animatronic Killers Are Back, and So Is the Slapdash Filmmaking, in the Lousy Sequel to 2023's Monster Hit “When you live with something for five-plus years, and you dream about it and wake up with nightmares right in front of you, it sticks with you,” Chu says during the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast.