‘Wicked’ director explains why Dorothy stays faceless in film

With the highly anticipated Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, releasing soon, the director Jon M. Chu offered a glimpse of what fans can expect from the movie.

While Wicked is an origin story for the witches of Oz, much of it overlaps with the events of The Wizard of Oz and the arrival of a girl from Kansas, Dorothy.

The sequel, which is an adaptation of Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz's Broadway musical "is the collision point," of the two tales.

In conversation with the People magazine, Chu revealed that between L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its 1939 movie adaptation and Wicked, "the moment that that house drops in and that girl Dorothy comes into our story."

Dorothy's appearance in the film was previously confirmed in the original in brief glimpse.

The Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker revealed his decision on keeping the gingham-clad Kansas girl faceless, explaining, "I didn’t want to step on who you think Dorothy is in whatever story that you came into this with."

He added, "She’s probably more in this story than in the show and yet not taking over the story — it is still Elphaba and Glinda’s journey, and she is a pawn in the middle of all of it."

Chu said that he is delighted to see the two worlds collide since it was something everyone was looking forward to experience.

"You get to see the origin stories of classic characters: The Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow," Chu says. What happens to one of them, he teased, "I think, is shocking."

What is 'Wicked' about

The Broadway adaptation is an reimagining of The Wizard of Oz, telling the untold story of Elphaba, the misunderstood green-skinned girl who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and her unlikely friendship with Glinda the Good.

It’s upcoming sequel Wicked: For Good continues the story into the events of The Wizard of Oz, showing how Elphaba and Glinda's choices shapes the world of Oz.

'Wicked: For Good' release date

Wicked: For Good is set to release on November 21.