WickedDirector Jon M. Chu Tells Jenna Bush Hager the Story Is 'the Image of the American Dream'

Mar. 15, 2025

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Jon M. Chuwants viewers to know thatWickedis just as relevant today as when its source material came out — maybe even more so.Speaking withJenna Bush Hageron her podcast,Open Book with Jenna, on Nov. 27, theWickeddirector said that original story, L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s novelThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, holds a special place in the American canon.“When you relook at it, it is so embedded in our culture and how we see story, how we see ourselves,” Chu said on the podcast. “L. Frank Baum always said that he wanted to be an American fairy tale with American dynamics to it, which is like self reliance, optimism and resilience.”

Chu also noted that the 1939 film,The Wizard of Oz, became “a part of that fabric of what we look towards.”“What’s beyond that rainbow became the image of what the American dream talks about,” Chu said. “And so I think when we revisit that world, it’s like Oz is like our old friend that we’ve known for so long, but never actually looked at.”

Jon M. Chu in 2024.Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty

Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty

Wickedis now in theaters, and starsAriana Grandeas Glinda andCynthia Erivoas Elphaba. The film, which follows the origin stories of the witches of Oz, is also an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel,Wicked, itself based off of Baum’s novel, as well as the Broadway musical.

Chu has had a busy year — he also published his memoir,Viewfinder, this past July. The book, co-written with Jeremy McCarter, looks back on Chu’s film career, as the director of hits likeCrazy Rich AsiansandIn the Heights, and his experience as a first-generation Chinese-American. Chu told Bush Hager thatThe Wizard of Ozstory reminded him of his own family’s experiences.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“It’s like looking at my parents and being like, ‘Oh, you decided to leave a country to come to this country because it wasn’t enough for you. You dropped everything.’ Like, that’s rock star,” Chu said.“And I think when we look at something like this story, I think it is an examination of the story that we have been told. It is an examination of who gets to say what is a villain and what is a hero.”

“What is timeless about that story is that it is a pattern of humanity,” Chu added. “But what’s beautiful about that pattern is we always rise through it.”

Chu begins his memoir with a quote fromThe Wizard of Ozfilm, where Glinda tells Dorothy to “just follow the yellow brick road.” Chutold PEOPLE in Julythat he resonated with the quote even before he was hired to directWicked.“It felt like, as I’m growing up, that the yellow brick road becomes more and more false, and that maybe there isn’t a wizard at the end of that cutoff, that maybe when we’re at the end of the path, we actually have to do it ourselves and that we have to build our own path,” he said.

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“It’s not a destination — your dreams. It’s a work in process. And I hope people understand that,” Chu added. “Those people who are chasing their biggest dreams, just keep walking, because it’s gonna be hard. It’s never gonna be easy. You just keep walking. You just keep going.”

source: people.com