Wicked's Ariana Grande reveals iconic line was almost replaced until she fought to keep it in

3 December 2024, 18:15

By Sam Prance

Ariana Grande called Jon M. Chu after reading the script to make sure the memorable line from the musical was put back in the movie.

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Wicked has so many iconic lines and one fan-fave moment was missing from the film before Ariana Grande spoke up.

Ever since Wicked debuted in cinemas, fans have praised the movie for capturing the essence of the beloved musical while still finding ways to make the adaptation fresh and new. One thing director Jon M. Chu has made sure to do is, bar some necessary sacrifices, keep all the most...popular...lines and moments from the stage script in the film.

However, Ariana Grande has now confirmed that one of the show's most iconic lines was completely replaced in the original movie script. It wasn't until she and Cynthia Erivo called up Jon M. Chu to contest it that the line stayed in.

Read more: Wicked director explains why they cut iconic Glinda line from the film
Read more: Every actress who auditioned for Elphaba in the Wicked movie

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande sang live on Wicked

Appearing on the Sentimental Men podcast, Ariana explained that the line 'The Wizard will see you now' in 'One Short Day' was written as 'Who rang that bell?' in the original film script. Ariana was so outraged that she immediately got on the phone with Jon M. Chu and her co-star Cynthia Erivo to ensure that the original line stayed in the movie.

Ariana said: "I was sick to my stomach. Ok, so I've got the role...it's so exciting. It's my first time reading the Wicked movie script. I finish and I text Jon: 'Please, call me'. He was like, 'Are you ok?' I said, 'I don't think I am. We need to talk.' He calls me and I was like, 'We can't do that. It has to be 'The Wizard will see you now'. Are you crazy?'"

Ariana then contacted Cynthia for backup: "I called Cynthia. I was like, 'Cynthia, did you finish the script?' She was like, 'I'm almost done, babe'. I was like, 'Did you see it? - 'The f---ing Wizard will see you now' is missing.' She was like, 'What are you talking about?' I was like, 'Look, it's not there.'"

Ariana continued: "Then we call Jon together to address this massive problem. The first thing on our task list, we literally bombarded him. I add her into the chat, we both were like 'We have to handle this. It can't be that."

Ariana ended by saying: "We had to handle it. It was urgent. I was floored."

Wicked without 'The Wizard will see you now!' I don't think.

Jon M. Chu actually opened up about the line controversy in an interview with Variety. He said: "I remember when Ari read we didn’t have the line 'The Wizard will see you now!' There was a reason for it; they were more progressed in the geography."

He added: "In rehearsals, we didn’t have it and every time that moment would happen, they would sing it anyway. Ari was like, 'I promise you, we have to have it.' So I was like, 'OK, let me figure it out.'"

Jon concluded: "We built it in so there are two entrances now, but it was worth it.'"

God bless Ariana and Cynthia for stepping in!