With Wicked Part 1 clocking in at a respectable 2 hours and 40 minutes, one can imagine that filming Part 2 at the exact same time would be quite an undertaking for director John M. Chu. They wrapped in January, and once Chu finishes doing press for this film, he will likely jump right into post-production on Wicked Part 2. That is, unless Part 2 is already cut.
I recently caught up with John M. Chu to talk Wicked, and when I asked if the sequel was done, he said this:
Part 2 has a cut version and I'm getting into it now.
John M. Chu
Dang! That’s a lot of Wicked! There’s no reason to assume that they’re anywhere close to arriving at a final version of the film, but the fact that it’s chopped up and laid out for him to fine-tune means they’re making pretty good time. Obviously there will be tons of visual effects work still to do, and of course the audio for such a massive musical production is probably a layered and complicated process. But either way, the fact that he has something to “get into” at all is a good sign.
When Wicked Part 2 premieres in 2025, John M. Chu will have spent over 3 years working on Wicked, and that’s not considering any pre-production. What an undertaking! The good news, however, is that the film is a massive success! It’s breaking records at the box office, has gotten rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, with our own official Wicked review giving it a perfect 5/5. If you’re going to devote such a large chunk of your life to something, it helps if folks give it a nod of approval. It’s already in the top 20 highest-grossing movies of 2024, so there’s no telling how far it will go once it finishes its run.
It’s not only the Wicked films that have been keeping the man busy, as he just had a baby! Between press and post-production, one has to wonder how he finds the time. Perhaps it’s all about compromise, as he did skip out on the Australian leg of press. He said this:
I mean, what more can I ask for? This is a dream. I honestly can't believe I’m here. I didn't get to go to the Australia media stuff because I'm about to have a baby so to be here, I feel like, “Put me in, Coach!” I want to talk about this movie.
John M. Chu
Some fans weren’t happy about Wicked being split up into two parts, though it’s likely for reasons unrelated to John M. Chu’s work/life balance. There was also some controversy surrounding casting and the on-set relationship between Ethan Slater and Ariana Grande. Now that the first film is out, however, people can’t stop talking about how great Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are, so it looks like John M. Chu knew what he was doing all along. Additionally, we’ve decided that the fans who weren’t happy about splitting the film up were wrong. So there.
You can see Wicked Part 1 in theaters right now! To get hyped for the film, check out our full interviews with the cast and director John M. Chu. Wicked mania is just getting started, and will be here long after Part 2’s release in 2025. Of course, CinemaBlend will be with you the whole time, delivering the latest updates.
