Wicked: For Good Just Ruined Its Own 'Surprise' Cameo For Some Reason

This article contains spoilers for "Wicked: For Good."

On October 16, Jon M. Chu, the director of "Wicked: Part One" and its forthcoming second part "Wicked: For Good," spoke to Deadline about the second film and revealed that he had personally approached a mysterious actor to voice the Cowardly Lion, a "new" character in the upcoming movie. Chu stated that he sent the actor a DM on Instagram and simply ... shot his shot. "I was like, 'It's not a ton of lines, but maybe you have a little time. I know you're busy. I'll come to you,'" Chu revealed before revealing that the actor was on board right away. ("He was like, 'Why the f*** not, let's go!' And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.")

Not only that, but Chu also teased an enormous reveal when the movie premieres at the beginning of November in Brazil. "Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion's voice steps foot on it," the director added, laughing. "It'll be wild."

Anyway, Colman Domingo is voicing the Cowardly Lion. How do I know that? The official "Wicked" Instagram posted a joint reel featuring Domingo, with the actor hiding behind a stuffed lion's head and then revealing himself.

Why did the "Wicked" movie make this reveal a full month before the movie's wide release on November 21? I don't know! Seems pretty ridiculous to put this information out into the world after Chu made such a big deal about it being a surprising secret, but what's done is done. The film probably still has some surprises up its sleeve, but this mystery, at least, is out in the open ... and for what it's worth, Domingo is a great choice to voice the Cowardly Lion.

We actually saw the Cowardly Lion in "Wicked: Part One," which released in late 2024 — and alongside Ethan Slater's Boq Woodsman and Jonathan Bailey's Winkie prince Fiyero Tigelaar, we're going to see the Lion from the famous "Wizard of Oz" trio that accompanies Dorothy Gale on her journey. (The role of Dorothy is still a secret as of this writing, and honestly, I really hope Jon M. Chu and his team don't reveal that bit of casting before the movie releases.) If you're unfamiliar with Gregory Maguire's original novel "Wicked" or the Broadway musical that serves as the source material for Chu's films (the latter of which was penned by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman), this is where we'll get into some light spoilers, so tread carefully!

I won't explain precisely how, but Boq and Fiyero are ultimately transformed into the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, respectively, but it shouldn't come as a huge shock that the lion cub that Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Fiyero rescue from an experiment at the magical Shiz University becomes the Cowardly Lion. After Elphaba accidentally puts an entire classroom to sleep aside from her and Fiyero, they abscond with the cub and free him in the woods before sharing a romantic moment. (We'll see more sparks between these two unlikely lovers in "Wicked: For Good" thanks to the show-stopping love song "As Long As You're Mine.")

Clearly, we'll meet the grown-up cub in "Wicked: For Good," but what else can we expect to see from Elphaba and her former best friend Glinda (played by Ariana Grande-Butera)? Recall that "Wicked: Part One" ends with Glinda allying herself with Jeff Goldblum's fraudulent Wizard and Elphaba flying away from the Emerald City.

Elsewhere in that Deadline interview, Jon M. Chu opened up about "Wicked: For Good" as it pertains to Elphaba and Glinda. "Once I understood how we were going to feel about these characters, then I knew what was missing emotionally for me," he explained, continuing:

"I want to see what Elphaba, now that she's made her choice to leave the wizard and Oz, how is her life when she's made this choice? How lonely can that be? What are the questions she asked herself when she thinks maybe she made a mistake, what would drive her back to the wizard? That's never made sense to me, actually. Try to make sense of that."

As for Glinda, she's now helping the Wizard's main henchwoman/Shiz University professor Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) spread propaganda about Elphaba. Chu added that she needs to step away from what she knows, possibly with Elphaba's help. "So, this movie had to be about the courage of someone popping their own bubble, a bubble of privilege or their bubble of safety," he added. "So, those things we really focus on. How do we, even when the girls aren't together, how are the decisions each of them made affecting the other in their journey?"

Elphaba, meanwhile, will remain center stage after her dramatic exit in "Wicked: Part One." "We wanted to show how powerful she really was," Chu continued. "I think this is how you show a superhero, especially these women as superheroes, and not have to fit into what a guy's superhero is, the stereotype of it all. Elphaba's her own person and Glinda could be too."

We'll see all of this — and hear Colman Domingo's Cowardly Lion — in "Wicked: For Good" on November 21, 2025.