The Deseret News spoke with Chu Friday and asked him about his process, including how he cast beloved characters and why he split “Wicked” into two parts. Here is what he told us. This discussion has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

“There was no world where we wouldn’t invite them to come be a part of this,” director Jon M. Chu tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The question for us was, how, and how much are they willing to do in it, and how much can the story itself handle it? Because they’re such iconic people and especially to these roles.”

He never doubted it would work as a movie. He just hoped he would be the one to film it: “I have my own experiences with being green.”

Director made complaint about film’s volume at cinema screenings as theatres remind fans that singing along during screenings is prohibited

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in Universal's highly anticipated adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical.

Jon M. Chu remembers Ariana Grande's 'Wicked' auditions and explains his plans for the musical, including 'Dancing Through Life' number. Interview

Part 2. Wicked, which is directed by Chu, is now playing in United States theaters. The film is the first chapter in a two-part adaptation of the popular Broadway show of the same name. Wicked: Part 2 arrives in025.

"Musical" has been a dirty word in marketing some recent song-and-dance studio films, but there's no avoiding it in bringing "Wicked" to the big screen.

Part 1. Audiences that have already seen Wicked are likely looking to the Western sky for more details on the second film, which isn't scheduled to hit theaters until Nov. 21, 2025. However, we have some insight which just might make you happy enough to melt.

Before people could really hold space with the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” Jon M. Chu had to figure out how much space his Wicked adaptation was going to take up in general. “The first question was: one movie or two?