The “Wicked: For Good” set easily defied gravity.
Just ask Jon M. Chu, who directed the two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.”
“It was like a kindergarten set all the time,” the director, 45, exclusively told The Post following Wicked Night on “Dancing With the Stars” on Tuesday night.
“Everyone was playing. I mean, Johnny [Bailey] and Ari [Grande] together is insane. Then you throw Bowen [Yang] in there and Cynthia [Erivo]!”
Although Chu was popular amongst his cast, he sometimes felt like he “had to be a teacher.”
“The spirit of the movie had to be like that,” he explained. “And so we had to always play, and they had to trust that I would protect them in the edits. And I think that comes out of it. So that was really fun.”
“Wicked” stars Grande, 32, as Glinda the Good Witch, Erivo, 38, as Elphaba, Bailey, 37, as Prince Fiyero and Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard.
It’s safe to say everyone was dancing through life — especially behind the scenes.
“I loved their rehearsals because the pressure’s on,” Chu detailed. “Everyone’s expecting a lot from Glinda and Elphaba. They’re so confident in what they do, but we are all scared because we’re taking on such beloved properties.”
“But we would sit on the on the floor of my office to rehearse,” he continued. “We wouldn’t be standing up. They loved the floor, they had to feel the ground. So, we’d be there and we talk about every line — everything. We’d try different versions. And working it out like that was really beautiful for us to find our way in to this Oz.“
After “Wicked” hit theaters in Nov. 2024, the pop culture phenomenon took off.
Along with moviegoers turning screenings into massive singalongs, Grande and Erivo went viral for communicating through touch during their press tour.
Chu, meanwhile, didn’t realize the film’s impact would stay for good.
“I did not anticipate we’d be at ‘Dancing With the Stars’ having a Wicked Night. That’s insane. I mean, we know people love ‘Wicked,’ but to see them fall in love with Elphaba and Glinda in this form, with Ariana and Cynthia, to understand the power that they have. That’s been the best.”
“To see my little girls and my little sons as well, fall in love with the world of Oz,” he gushed to The Post. “‘Wizard of Oz’ is so old and ‘Wicked’ has been around for 20 years. That has been the best part of my whole life. They love what I do for a living now, it’s great.”
Chu shares daughters Willow, 8, Ruby, 4, and Stevie Sky, 10 months, and sons Jonathan Heights, 6, and Iggy, 2, with wife Kristin Hodge.
He teased that dad is cool — “for now.”
“Wicked: For Good” premieres in theaters on November 22.
“We shot this at the same time as movie one, so we spent a lifetime with Elphaba and Glinda. You’ve only seen their university years,” he expressed. “Wait until they look back on their years and their fairy tale that they’ve, you know, had shatters in front of them. That’s when they become like warriors. And so I’m excited for people to get the full story of ‘Wicked.’”
“I don’t want Oz to end,” he exclaimed. “We just finished editing just like three weeks ago, so I’m processing. This is part of my process.”
“I spend time with my kids. I have five kids. Eight, four, six two, and ten months old. I get to talk about the movie. It feels like I get to sort of exercise and release memories and things like that,” he added of promoting the project. “We get to spend a lot of time with the girls when we do press and stuff, and we get to sort of let it all go slowly but surely so we can say goodbye.”
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