Wicked director Jon M. Chu has long been fascinated with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Growing up in San Francisco as a child of immigrants, Chu saw the Yellow Brick Road as the path toward the dream, leading to the Wizard, who could fulfill these wishes. 

“The Wizard of Oz was part of our culture,” Chu told The Nerds of Color last week over Zoom. “You see the Yellow Brick Road – and it immediately conjures images and feelings for people. Even on set, we had the Yellow Brick Road there; we all thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re making a movie with this.’ That is a very moving experience to go through.”

With Wicked, Chu gets to tell another side of the story — a reimagined version of the Wicked Witch of the West, based on the 1995 novel and Broadway musical of the same name. Instead of being seen as the villain, the Wicked Witch gets a name, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), and a deep and fleshed-out origin story. 

In Chu’s film adaptation, Elphaba is a young witch who is accepted into Shiz University under the tutelage of the sorceress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who works for the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). With her enemy-to-best friend Glinda (Ariana Grande), Elphaba learns what it means to be wicked. 

“It does change things,” Chu says. “It’s [become] more of an exploration of our childhood, our parents, and the story they have told us. For me, it was re-exploring the American dream and how having those kinds of ambitions and horizons as a kid was very helpful.”

Chu, who had his fifth child during the LA premiere of Wicked last month, now has to consider the stories he wants to tell his children about The Wizard of Oz. This “American Dream” may not be exactly what they thought it was. “What tweaks would I make to that story to prepare them for what we’re about to go through or what we’re going through now? It’s the idea that the curtain is off of the storyteller. Who writes history? Who is telling us what a hero is? Or what the villain looks like? What is beautiful, or who determines what is beautiful?”

There is always another side and viewpoint that isn’t told or — like much of real life — censored from audiences. This makes one think about today’s politics and how many people want to rewrite history to illuminate the positives rather than the horrors of American history — or who the heroes should be and who are made the villains. 

“There’s no gate anymore,” Chu explains. “We create that story. We decide who we want to be. This movie dives into that feeling of what happens when you find out the truth, and it’s not even about the plotting of the animals. That’s part of the architecture. But, deep down, who do you become when you find out the truth? Who do you decide you’re going to be?”

Chu wants the audience to see Elphaba and Glinda’s paths and how relatable they are to the audience. Elphaba is righteous and doesn’t care what others think of her, making it easy to villainize her. Glinda represents many of us who want to do the right thing but question it and may not be ready yet. 

“How brave do you need to be to pop your own privilege bubble to go and care about somebody else or some other community,” Chu explained. “Every generation has that question about stepping up to some idea of who we want to be. Maybe that question is at our doorstep right now. So, to me, that’s what changes about it. It puts the fairy tale to the side and makes us grow up.”

The Wizard himself is given a darker backstory from L. Frank Baum’s original story, and how the inventor who got lost on his air balloon into Oz became the leader of its people. Chu talked thoroughly with Goldblum about the deconstruction of the character. 

“If the Wizard is the ultimate storyteller, what if he’s us?” says Chu. “What if he’s like Hollywood, the people making the story of what we want to achieve and who we are? Well then, how far are we willing to go for entertainment?”

The Wizard believes a common enemy must unite the people — the animals, who may not be a threat at all. This is how empires fall and are rebuilt through common hate. “Okay, violence and villains help a story. We’ll insert that into the movie because [to the Wizard] it’s ‘entertainment’.”

Chu compares the Wizard’s popularity to those trying to “get clicks,” whether through a prank or provocative action. Whether it be content creators or influencers, he questions how far people will go to maintain their power or popularity. 

“How far are you willing to go to get clicks, get people’s attention, or become the storyteller?” says Chu. “I think it’s interesting because it’s not villainizing the Wizard, necessarily. It’s putting that storyteller within us. I think the question of what we are willing to do to entertain people is something that, now, is not a niche thing to have. It’s that every [person] in the world has to decide that.”

No one could have predicted the film would resonate with so many during the election season and this coming new year. Chu didn’t, but he hopes people can resonate with the film’s message of empowerment and perception. He says, “There are some serious choices to make now [for our country and yourselves].”