Wicked spoilers follow.
Wicked director Jon M Chu has explained why he decided to cut an emotional scene between Elphaba and Glinda.
Several deleted scenes from the hit musical movie recently emerged online following its digital release, including one particularly poignant exchange between Ariana Grande's Glinda and Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba that has left some fans outraged it wasn't included in the final cut.
In the scene, Glinda brings up Elphaba and Fiyero's (Jonathan Bailey) escape with the caged lion cub after Elphaba cast a spell over her classmates – including Glinda – to send them to sleep.
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"I would've helped you if you needed someone," Glinda says. "You could've picked me."
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Moved by her words, Elphaba replies: "I'm sorry, it was a mistake. I won't leave you behind again."
Discussing the scene during a new interview with MTV UK, Chu said it "was one the hardest scenes to cut" from the movie because "it's of the relationship and you really get to see Glinda's side of things".
"That she sort of realises she doesn't have this power even though she's always pretended she has the whole time, that she's actually much smarter, and that she actually, genuinely wants to be Elphaba's friend," he continued.
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As for why the "promise" scene was cut, the filmmaker said it would have taken away from the emotion of the next scene, which sees Elphaba invite Glinda onto the train to the Emerald City.
"You already know that, if that's Elphaba's heart, she's not going to leave her behind," he said.
"By holding it back, the audience doesn't know, and that made the train scene much more exciting and more emotional when she does invite her. And that is ultimately her decision.
"When she looks back at her, she is saying with her eyes, whether we hear it or not, that I will never leave you behind again. So it sort of served a purpose in another way. We kept a little ahead of the audience there."
Wicked is out now in cinemas, and is also available to buy or rent from Prime Video, iTunes, Microsoft Store and more.
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.
