Wicked director Jon M. Chu has revealed how Ariana Grande’s personal struggles during filming helped elevate her Oscar-nominated performance as Glinda in the movie musical and its upcoming sequel.
Chu told The New York Times that despite dealing with divorce proceedings, Grande delivered her best work on camera.
“I got to watch her on days be upset in her real life and have to open up even more to deliver [even] for us,” Chu said in the interview published Wednesday.
“She was not hiding anything from this camera,” he added.
The director explained that Grande’s personal challenges gave him confidence she could handle the darker scenes in the film. Both Wicked and Wicked: For Good were shot simultaneously while the 32-year-old actress was going through her divorce from real estate broker Dalton Gomez.
Divorce Details
Grande and Gomez filed for divorce in July 2023, two months after news broke of their separation.
A source told PEOPLE at the time that the couple were “taking their time together to slowly work through the details of the agreement privately.”
The source added that they’d “been really caring and respectful of one another through every step of this process.” Though the pair had “moved on,” they remained “kind and patient” with each other during the separation.
Grande and Gomez began dating in January 2020. They made their relationship official when they appeared together in her music video with Justin Bieber for “Stuck with U” in May 2020.
After announcing their engagement in December 2020, they married in an intimate ceremony on May 15, 2021. Despite keeping their relationship private, Grande celebrated their second wedding anniversary in 2023 by posting a wedding photo on Instagram Stories with the message “I love him so.”
New Relationship
Following news of the split, sources confirmed to PEOPLE that Grande had begun dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater. The pair reportedly met in 2022 on the movie set.
“[Ariana] loves being with [Ethan],” a source told PEOPLE in December 2023. “It’s a very normal relationship.”
Slater and Grande keep their relationship private. But he showed support from afar when she won three VMAs in 2024 for Video of the Year, Best Long Form Video, and Best Pop.
Though he didn’t attend the September ceremony, Slater shared a video on his Instagram Stories of Grande’s acceptance speech for Best Pop.
What’s Next for Wicked
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE last month, Chu shared what he hopes fans take away from Wicked: For Good.
The director said he hopes audiences “get the joy and love of movie one” but noted the sequel has “extra meat.”
“This is where you get to see Cynthia [Erivo] and Ariana really come to life as actors. This is their adult selves looking back at their childhood dreams, that are now shattered in front of them.”
Chu believes viewers will see both films as one complete story rather than separate movies. “I’m excited to complete the story for people,” he said.
When asked about surprises for fans, Chu teased: “I hope they get a few surprises!”
Wicked: For Good hits theaters on November 21.
