Jon M. Chu Teases Secret Celebrity Casting for Cowardly Lion in WICKED: FOR GOOD

In a new interview with Deadline's Baz Bamigboye, Wicked: For Good director Jon M. Chu shed light on some things that fans can expect in the upcoming sequel, including the new songs, expanded character arcs, and some secretive casting for the Cowardly Lion. 

To refine the final cut of the film, he shared that reshoots took place last March with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to add some new dialogue to the movie's title song. The dialogue differs from that in the stage musical, and sees Elphaba tell Glinda to "Look at me, not through your eyes, through theirs." The dialogue was heard for the first time in the recent trailer. Other reshoots included new moments with a young Glinda, which mirror the inclusion of young Elphaba in Part One. 

Chu also spoke about Glinda's addition to the song 'Wonderful,' which was originally a duet between Elphaba and The Wizard. "What would drive [Elpaba] back to the wizard? That’s never made sense to me, actually... Oh, it would be Glinda. We should add Glinda into that scene because Glinda would be the only one who can speak to her, convince her,” said Chu.

For the role of the Cowardly Lion, Chu reached out to a well-known actor on Instagram to record the lines. “I was like, ‘It’s not a ton of lines, but maybe you have a little time. I know you’re busy. I’ll come to you.’ He was like, ‘Why the f*ck not, let’s go!’ And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.” The identity of the actor is being kept under wraps until the film debuts in theaters next month. Check out the full story at Deadline.

Get tickets to see Wicked: For Good in theaters here.

Wicked: For Good, the conclusion of the film adaptation, picks up after the 2024 blockbuster. Elphaba, now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard. 

Wicked: For Good will hit theaters on November 21, 2025, and stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Ariana Grande as Glinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose.