“There was no world where we wouldn’t invite them to come be a part of this,” director Jon M. Chu tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The question for us was, how, and how much are they willing to do in it, and how much can the story itself handle it? Because they’re such iconic people and especially to these roles.”

He never doubted it would work as a movie. He just hoped he would be the one to film it: “I have my own experiences with being green.”

Jon M. Chu remembers Ariana Grande's 'Wicked' auditions and explains his plans for the musical, including 'Dancing Through Life' number. Interview

Part 2. Wicked, which is directed by Chu, is now playing in United States theaters. The film is the first chapter in a two-part adaptation of the popular Broadway show of the same name. Wicked: Part 2 arrives in025.

"Musical" has been a dirty word in marketing some recent song-and-dance studio films, but there's no avoiding it in bringing "Wicked" to the big screen.

People do not understand why the movie was split between two movies and now that it has hit theaters, the new question is: Why didn't the official title for the film have a "Part One" added to it? The first film is just called Wicked.

"If Part 1 is about choices, Part 2 is about consequences," Chu tells Entertainment Weekly. "Choices are difficult to make, but when you do make those choices, sometimes the result isn't what you expect it to be. It can be lonely, it can be hard." Related: Ariana Grande reveals sweet reason why she chose to use her full name in Wicked credits

Before people could really hold space with the lyrics of “Defying Gravity,” Jon M. Chu had to figure out how much space his Wicked adaptation was going to take up in general. “The first question was: one movie or two?