Director Jon M. Chu has teased that Wicked: For Good will feature a surprise Hollywood star in the role of the Cowardly Lion.
The sequel to last year’s Wicked is set to be released in cinemas on November 21, and it will catch up with Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda after the conclusion of the first film as they embrace their identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good respectively.
Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are among the other actors that will reprise their roles in the new film, and now Chu, who also helmed the first instalment, has teased that a familiar name will be voicing the Cowardly Lion.
The film is adapted from the second act of the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman and it includes action from both before and after Dorothy Gale’s arrival from Kansas in the Land of Oz. As such, there will be some inclusion of the other iconic characters from The Wizard Of Oz, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion.
In an interview with Deadline, Chu spoke about reaching out to a secret star on Instagram to offer him the role.
“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 fuck not, let’s go!’ And then we went ahead and recorded the lines,” Chu said.
“Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild,” he added.
The name has not been disclosed, but some fans of the films have suggested it could be Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is known to have been eager to star in the first film, with others speculating about Jack Black and J.K. Simmons.
The trailer for Wicked: For Good first premiered at CinemaCon back in April, and was praised by those in attendance.
Wicked received a four-star review from NME, with Nick Levine writing: “By the end, you won’t quite be levitating off your seat but you’ll definitely be enchanted enough to stream the soundtrack on the way home. Funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders, this film really is the Shiz.”
Chu claimed last year For Good is “more relevant” to where we are “in society right now,”: “Part Two, I will say because I’ve cut Part Two together, is a doozy. “[You’re] getting the meat. I did not know the context of where we’d be in society right now. It becomes eight times more relevant than before when you’re talking about truth and consequences of making the right or wrong choices. It’s intense.”
Erivo previously revealed that she co-wrote an original song for For Good. “I collaborated on one of the new songs, and it’s so special to me,” she said. “When we filmed it, the entire crew was in tears. I hope audiences are ready – it’s a song that speaks to the heart of who Elphaba is.”