The sequel to “Wicked,” titled “For Good,” isn’t set to arrive in theaters until Nov. 21, but director Jon M. Chu gave fans an early treat at the BFI London Film Festival on Friday. During his LFF for Free talk, Chu unveiled an exclusive new clip from the highly anticipated follow-up to Universal’s hit musical adaptation.
The scene shows Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) visiting Glinda (Ariana Grande) on her wedding day. The touching moment marks a secret reunion between the two after the events of “Defying Gravity,” with Glinda wearing a dazzling white gown while Elphaba is being pursued by the Wizard’s flying monkeys. A tearful Glinda begs Elphaba to “talk things out with the Wizard,” but before she can finish, Elphaba disappears.
Chu also shared that he chose not to use digital effects for the Tin Man and Scarecrow — once known as Boq and Fiyero — in “For Good.” “By the way, wait until you see the Tin Man and the Scarecrow,” Chu teased.
These are not digital effects. These are real physical make-up and hair and it is extraordinary. I couldn’t show you any footage here, but when you see it, know there was no room for error on it.
Read More: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Tops Weekly Chart After Trailer Release
Speaking about the song “For Good,” which lends its name to the sequel, Chu shared that Erivo and Grande’s rendition is “the most beautiful, emotional version of it I’ve ever heard in my life.”
“That song is about literally what they’re doing with their eyes,” Chu explained while discussing the filming of the “For Good” scene.
It’s the most covered song, it’s the song that everybody has heard many, many times and many different versions, but the advantage that we have in this is that you know these characters.
He went on to say, “The way they were singing it to each other almost wasn’t singing, it was just like communicating. And you’ve got to just let them do it and let them drive. It became like, ‘Filmmakers, get out of the way.’”
Chu revealed that he first shot the “For Good” sequence using “sweeping” camera movements and kept that version in the edit for seven months. However, “it never sat right,” he said, explaining that he eventually chose a more “intimate” approach.
Both “Wicked” and its sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” were filmed back-to-back in the U.K., primarily at NBCUniversal’s expansive Sky Studios Elstree. The first “Wicked” movie, released in late 2024, became a pop culture sensation and a massive box office success, grossing over $750 million worldwide. It ranked as the fifth-highest-grossing film of the year, earned recognition from the American Film Institute as one of the year’s best films, and was named Best Film by the National Board of Review. The movie received 10 Oscar nominations — including Best Picture — and went on to win awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
Chu also offered a glimpse into his next project following his journey through Oz — a film adaptation of another beloved stage musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s biblical tale “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
“It’s something that I hold dear to my heart,” he said of the film, which is being developed for Amazon Studios and reunites him with his “In the Heights” producer Scott Sanders.
It’s my favorite show, but it’s a hard one to preconceive for now and [decide] how to do it with the tone. But I love it so much and I think we’ve cracked something in there that’s really fun.