Lin-Manuel Miranda, despite his impressive resume with musicals like Hamilton, Moana, Mufasa: The Lion King, and more, didn’t land a role in the highly anticipated 2024 Wicked movie, much to the surprise of many. You might expect that Miranda’s star power would earn him a part in such a major project, but director Jon M. Chu had his own strict casting standards.
In a conversation with Variety, Chu revealed that Miranda was eager to secure a very specific role in the film. The actor and songwriter reached out multiple times, pitching himself for the part of a Munchkinland citizen—the character who famously asks Glinda (Ariana Grande) about Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in the opening scenes: “Is it true you were her friend?” However, Chu ultimately turned down Miranda’s request, feeling that his involvement would be “too distracting” for the scene.
Miranda, not one to give up easily, even took to Twitter to express his excitement for the project, writing, “WICKED MOVIE! FINALLY,” and later reaching out to Stephen Daldry, who was involved in the film early on, asking if he could play that very role. In the end, the part went to actress Kirsty Anne Shaw.
Despite the setback, there’s no bad blood between Miranda and Chu. The two were seen happily chatting and smiling together at the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York City, where Chu won Best Director for Wicked.
The movie adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical has been a huge hit, grossing $709 million worldwide, with a star-studded cast including Erivo, Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Peter Dinklage, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, and Keala Settle. Even without a part for Miranda, it seems like the Wicked movie is continuing to live up to its massive expectations!