After an extended shooting period thanks to the strikes, the Wicked movie is finally in theaters. Critics have been praising the musical, and it’s also performed well at the box office over opening weekend. But there’s been some criticism thrown at the blockbuster, specifically about its color grading. And now director Jon M. Chu has defended stepping away from the “glorious technicolor” look on the big screen.
Since its release in theaters Wicked has broken records, and there’s been endless praise for the Wicked cast‘s performances. But the film’s use of color has inspired some discourse online, eventually leading the Crazy Rich Asians director to directly respond.
What Jon M. Chu has said about Wicked’s use of color.
Chu and the cast of Wicked has been doing a ton of press for the movie musical, and it seems like those efforts have really payed off at the box office. But no project is without criticism, and some are taking shots at the musical’s use of color grading. During a conversation with The Globe and Mail, Chu explained why he pivoted way from the technicolor look of The Wizard Of Oz (which is streaming with a Max subscription). As he put it:
I mean, there’s colour all over it. I think what we wanted to do was immerse people into Oz, to make it a real place. Because if it was a fake place, if it was a dream in someone’s mind, then the real relationships and the stakes that these two girls are going through wouldn’t feel real. It’s also [presented in] a way we have not experienced Oz before. It’s been a matte painting. It’s been a video game digital world. But for us, I want to feel the dirt. I want to feel the wear and tear of it. And that means it’s not plastic.
Case closed. The rich technicolor visuals of The Wizard of Oz are certainly striking, but the movie definitely doesn’t feel like it’s set in reality once Dorothy lands in Munchkinland. So while Wicked is still a super colorful world, he wanted to make sure the environments felt real for audiences… dirt and all.
The trailers for Wicked showed off the movie’s beautiful visual language, and it certainly was a colorful and utterly theatrical experience in theaters. Jon M. Chu’s vision for a “real” feeling environment included massive practical sets. They also used the real sun as the light source, shooting outside in Pinewoods Studios in the UK. As Chu shared:
We have the environment. The sun is the main source of light. You see the vast landscapes. You see the air. You see creatures exist here. These two characters that will go through two movies, their relationship with the land is important; their relationship with the nature of this land that the wizard imposed himself. The [colour] contrast goes up over time because that is what Elphaba brings to this world.
There you have it. Clearly there was a very specific vision for how Wicked would look, and Jon M. Chu has seemingly accomplished what he was shooting for. So while some might be complaining about the color grading of the film, it was all done for a very specific reason.
How technicolor was received in The Wizard Of Oz
1939’s The Wizard of Oz is one of the most popular movies of all time, and its use of color was one reason why it remains so iconic. Seeing Dorothy go from Sepia to technicolor upon arriving in Oz is a moment of true movie magic, and the colors remain wildly vivid throughout 102-minute runtime.
While audiences immediately responded to the technicolor of The Wizard of Oz, it definitely complicated the shooting schedule. The lighting and costumes had to be extreme in color in order for the film to function, and the technicolor sequences reportedly took a whopping six months to film. While the movie wasn’t the first project to use technicolor, it helped make the process famous at the time.
The first Wicked movie is in theaters now, and the sequel will follow suit on November 21st, 2025. For now, check the 2025 movie release dates.