Michelle Yeoh Reveals 'There Was Talk' of Making “Wicked” Just 1 Movie. Here's Why They Decided on 2 (Exclusive)
- - Michelle Yeoh Reveals 'There Was Talk' of Making “Wicked” Just 1 Movie. Here's Why They Decided on 2 (Exclusive)
Jack Smart, Lizzie HymanAugust 21, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
Michelle Yeoh in 'Wicked' -
Michelle Yeoh spoke to PEOPLE exclusively about the English-language version of Ne Zha 2
Ahead of the release of Wicked: For Good, Yeoh recalls that “there was talk” of adapting the musical into one rather than two movies
By splitting the story into two parts, audiences, she says, will “want to know more about what's gonna happen next”
As Wicked fans eagerly await the second part of the origin story of the witches of Oz, Michelle Yeoh is shedding light on the decision to make two big-screen installments.
“We shot Wicked and Wicked: For Good at the same time,” the actress, 63, says during an exclusive chat with PEOPLE about her voice role in the upcoming English-language version of the Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 (in theaters Aug. 22). The franchise's distributor and producer, Universal Pictures, she quips, “was very brave.”
Shouting out Wicked director Jon M. Chu, producer Marc Platt and costars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey, Yeoh recalls conversations about how to translate Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz's long-running Broadway musical (itself adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 revisionist prequel to L. Frank Baum’s Oz) for the screen.
Splitting the stage show into two movies, she says, “is very much like the musical, you know? You have part one, intermission, part two.”
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Michelle Yeoh at a screening of 'Ne Zha 2" in Los Angeles on Aug. 4
Although, the Oscar winner adds, “I think there was talk: ‘Maybe we should just [squish] it together.’ ” But ultimately the team decided to spread the story out. “There's so many nuances.”
Plus, says Yeoh, “After you saw Wicked One, you felt, ‘I saw a complete film — but I want to know more about what's gonna happen next.’ ”
As for what to expect in Wicked: For Good (in theaters Nov. 21), the actress behind the mysterious Madame Morrible can only tease. “I think you're getting some new songs,” Yeoh says, confirming what Schwartz exclusively told PEOPLE at the 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony in June. She jokingly adds, “I didn't say that.”
Last November’s Wicked, after wowing critics and the box office alike, became the highest-grossing stage-to-screen adaptation of all time, earning two Oscars and 10 total nominations at the 2025 ceremony.
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(L-R) Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey and Bronwyn James at the Los Angeles premiere of 'Wicked' in 2024
Yeoh — who recently supported Erivo at her Hollywood Bowl production of Jesus Christ Superstar —confirms that the movies’ cast has remained close throughout filming and promotion. They do have a group chat, the Everything Everywhere All at Once star says, “but I normally prefer individual chats.”
Among Yeoh’s other upcoming projects are the Avatar sequels. The English-language version of Ne Zha 2, in which she voices Lady Yin, will be in U.S. theaters on Aug. 22. Wicked: For Good is in theaters Nov. 21.
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