'Wicked: For Good' Press Conference with Ariana Grande and More

Stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, plus director Jon M. Chu discuss the challenges of making the movie and what they’re proudest to have brought.

(L to R) Ariana Grande (as Glinda), Director Jon M. Chu, and Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba), on the set of 'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu.

Continuing the epic story of magic and friendship begun in last year’s ‘Wicked,’ follow-up ‘Wicked: For Good’ returns us to the land of Oz, where witches Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) are still trying to save their home from the machinations of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

Moviefone was in attendance at a virtual press conference for the epic film, which featured director/writer Jon M. Chu, and stars Grande and Erivo.

1) Ariana Grande had to keep a handle on where Glinda was in the story

Ariana Grande is Glinda in 'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu.

Since ‘Wicked’ and ‘Wicked: For Good’ were shot together, the cast had to make sure they knew where each scene fit on their character’s journey, and Ariana Grande also wanted to explore more about Glinda.

Ariana Grande: “We filmed both at the same time, which I know is insane. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of the week we would be filming part one, and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we’d be filming part two, so it was simultaneous. I just wanted to make sure that I knew who she was as well as possible before we even got there. So even things about her that you never got to see on screen, if they weren’t referenced in a scene, talked about or performed, I just wanted to make sure that, even in the first film, beneath the shiny, perfect exterior, her you know, bubble of privilege, as I call it, there’s a person underneath that has a lot of insecurities, a lot of little wounds that, you know, contribute to her need for all of that external validation.”

2) Cynthia Erivo wasn’t prepared for how the first ‘Wicked’ movie and its characters have been embraced

Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba (center) in 'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu.

Cynthia Erivo: “I don’t think I could have fully prepared for what has happened since, since the first movie, and what is happening now. I knew that it would be a life-changing project from the beginning. But I don’t think I quite know the gravity of – please excuse the pun – of what it would be. I knew it was something that would challenge me. I knew it was something that would change the way I see my art, or increase the love I have for it.”

3) Ariana Grande was nervous performing one of the two original songs for the new movie

(L to R) Bowen Yang is Pfannee, Bronwyn James is Shenshen, and Ariana Grande is Glinda in 'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu.

Ariana Grande: “It was daunting and also so incredible, the privilege of a lifetime to originate a Stephen Schwartz song. But of course there’s a scary element, it’s a new piece. To be trusted with that was all of the right kinds of nerve-wracking, and also just such an honour. But what I love most about it is that it’s such a narrative piece for her. I’m so glad that we get to see her experience that moment of change, that to make that choice to begin the chapter of being truly good.”

4) Cynthia Erivo is proud of one song in particular in ‘For Good'

Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in 'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu.

Cynthia Erivo: “I’m really proud of ‘No Good Deed,’ because we shot it in the space, but it was me on my own, there was no-one there. I’m shooting against really a blue screen and a plinth and fire and rocks. And so the dynamism with which we had to shoot it, looking back at the memories, looking back at things that had gone past, none of that was there to look at, it’s all in the mind. So I was really proud of being able to do something that was that big, that grand, and still be able to hone into the feeling, the moment.”

5) Director Jon M. Chu worried about the smallest detail – even down to the shade of the Yellow Brick Road.

(L to R) Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba), Ariana Grande (as Glinda), and Director Jon M. Chu on the set of 'Wicked For Good'.

Jon M. Chu: “I want to walk away from this beautiful experience, look back and say, “wow, the whole thing was great, and the world saw us and saw our work as well.” Every day I thought about that in the edit room. Even colour. Yellow, we talked about yellow so long, and then you go from [color tones] P3 to Rec709, and the yellow’s all over the place again. I had to make sure that it’s the yellow we talked about three years ago. So those are the things that keep me up at night, and whether people saw it or not, I don’t know, but I really wanted it to be something we could be proud of.”
'Wicked For Good', directed by Jon M. Chu, opens in theaters on November 21st.

What’s the story of ‘Wicked: For Good’?

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.