Flying High

The award-winning production team of Wicked returns with part two of director Jon M. Chu's epic movie musical

- SAM COCHRAN

By now it's no secret that flight factors heavily into the final scene of Wicked, the first installment of the hit musical's two-part movie adaptation. The crash of broken glass, the swoosh of Elphaba's cape, the echoing sounds of Cynthia Erivo's once-in-a-generation voice—it's a moment that defined the year in pop culture. And it's a theme that very much persists, both narratively and visually, in director Jon M. Chu's eagerly awaited sequel, Wicked: For Good, hitting theaters November 21.

“Defying gravity in architecture was a great way to launch into the second film,” says production designer Nathan Crowley, winner of an Academy Award for his work on the 2024 blockbuster. He is referring specifically to Kiamo Ko: a crumbling castle belonging to the family of Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), adopted by an exiled Elphaba as her hideout in the West. "Could I create a castle in the sky?" Crowley reflects on his initial inspiration for the edifice. "The big thing was trying to come up with someplace that belongs in the fantasy genre."