Of course, it was based on the beloved hit Broadway musical, so the odds were that the movie would be a surefire HIT. The movie was also in development for years and had several stars attached to it, including Lady Gaga, who was reportedly going to play Elphaba in a 2016 version of the movie that was going to be directed by Stephen Daldry. There were also a lot of actors who auditioned or wanted to be in the film.
One of those people who wanted to be in the film was Lin-Manuel Miranda, who tweeted (when it was announced that Daldry would be directing the movie) that he wanted to play the role of the Munchkin who yells, “Is it true you were her Friend?!”:
In 2020, Stephen ended up leaving Wicked because of scheduling conflicts, and Jon M. Chu would eventually come on board to direct.
Previously, Jon had directed the 2021 film adaption of Lin-Manuel’s In the Heights. And according to him, Lin-Manuel called him several times to be cast in Wicked.
Well, Lin-Manuel was a guest last night on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote him starring in the Broadway play All In: Comedy About Love. Toward the end of the interview, Stephen asked why he wasn’t in Wicked.
According to Lin-Manuel, the story of him trying to be cast in Wicked has been “blown way out of proportion.” He said he did call Jon after he found out he would be directing and told him that if there were any role for him, he would be interested. But he also told him he really wanted the role of the Munchkin, who asks Glinda, “Is it true you were her friend?!”
Lin-Manuel went on to explain why he wanted that role so badly, saying, “Because man, I don’t know if you’ve seen a live production of Wicked, but sometimes they really put some sauce on the ball when they deliver that line.”
He also said that the actor who ultimately got the role did a great job at delivering the line earnestly because he would have delivered it like Regina George in Mean Girls.
Ultimately, Lin-Manuel admitted that if he had been cast, it would have been distracting.