Wicked director Jon M Chu has explained how the movie's version of 'Defying Gravity' differs from the stage production.
The filmmaker's anticipated adaptation of the hit musical – which officially arrived in cinemas today (November 22) – sees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande take on the roles of Elphaba and Galinda, respectively, who later become known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.
Wicked is being split into two parts, with Part One concluding with Elphaba's iconic number 'Defying Gravity' (like the show), while Part Two will wrap up the story when it releases next November.
"The alternative was not possible, to be honest," Chu said of splitting the story up while speaking to GamesRadar. "We tried to make it into one movie, and you had to rip out songs and it became not Wicked."
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Chu went on to explain that you can "get away with things on stage that you can't get away with in a movie" because the "audience is more sceptical in a movie", which led to some changes for 'Defying Gravity'.
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"If you just use the song itself the way it's used in the show, it doesn't actually feel like the end of this epic journey that we've gone on," he said.
"So we had to break that up a little bit, which is scary. And we questioned ourselves at every turn. We did not make decisions lightly. We actually could make decisions and go backwards. We tried all versions, always.
"But in the end of the day, it was like, 'I'm rooting for Elphaba to have this for herself, and she can't just get it. She has to earn it, too.'"
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Chu said that one of the changes to the song "brings back all the stuff in the movie that we've seen, all the doubts that have been put upon her, that she has to make a decision that is for herself – or for this little girl, for whatever way you want to interpret it – so that when she says, 'It's me,' the ultimate goal for us this whole movie, we've been saying, 'It's not for anybody else, it's for me,' that she stands up and sings 'Defying Gravity.'"
"And I think that was something that, had we not cut it into two movies, you couldn't have those moments," he continued.
"And so I think the audience will stick with us on that when you see the movie."
Wicked is out now in cinemas.
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Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
