Wicked Director Teases 'Wild' Surprise For Fans As 'Celebrated Actor' Is Cast As Cowardly Lion

The Cowardly Lion as shown in the Wicked For Good trailerEven those who love the original Wicked musical have a few surprises in store when the second film hits cinemas next month, with new songs being added in, certain storylines being tweaked and the character of Dorothy being expanded.But director Jon M Chu has revealed that there’s one more secret in store that he’s keeping under his witch’s hat for the time being.As is the case with Dorothy, the character of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard Of Oz doesn’t have any lines in the stage show of Wicked, but in the extended film version, the character will get the chance to speak.Deadline reported on Thursday that Chu approached “a celebrated actor” to voice the lion character, not expecting to hear anything back.“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 recalled. “[But] he was like, ‘Why the fuck not, let’s go!’. And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.”While keeping the actor in question’s identity to himself for now, Chu added: “Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it. It’ll be wild.”Although Chu is keeping schtum for now, that hasn’t stopped Wicked fans’ imaginations from running wild already…the cowardly lion here kinda looks like ian mckellen, is it him https://t.co/1ZSzRzZbGV— ash ✨ misses evita (@zeglifrey) October 16, 2025It’s Joel Grey! https://t.co/I6iR6J8sLM— Marwendy Williams (@broadwaydiva101) October 16, 2025It has to be Jack Black. I can’t see anyone else filling the role https://t.co/P5SgcTSgQY— Lee (@RiverdaleBlues) October 16, 2025It’s obviously Lin-Manuel Miranda https://t.co/WKSXfqoUSw— Kristina (@rawrkristina) October 16, 2025And Pedro Pascal as The Cowardly Lion, folks! https://t.co/ExaMpCAc7x— Agent 711🎃 (@kwp1039) October 16, 2025chris pratt https://t.co/BQk5LBkLAD— marcus brooks pr manager (@lewpilled) October 16, 2025liam neeson https://t.co/HyvwQI5poU— chris trepidation 🐇🏠 (@heemehna) October 16, 2025Please Universe let it be Morgan Freeman https://t.co/8ggmIh4L4i— Arianas Tiktok (@GrandesTok) October 16, 2025Richard Kind https://t.co/gNlmtsWIyD— Springthorpeman (@strangepimphorn) October 16, 2025Matt Berry, I’m calling it now https://t.co/kaugIq9j59— The Mind Petrol⁉️🚦 (@hershelstophat) October 16, 2025The identity of the actor playing Dorothy is also being kept under wraps for now, although rumours have suggested that it will be Alisha Weir, best known for her performances in Matilda The Musical and Abigail.Cyntha Erivo and Ariana Grande will once again take the lead as Elphaba and Glinda, with the supporting cast including the likes of Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Ethan Slater.Wicked For Good will tornado its way into cinemas on Friday 21 November.MORE WICKED:Got Burning Questions About Wicked For Good? Well, We've Got Answers22 Weird And Wonderful Behind-The-Scenes Secrets You Probably Never Knew About How Wicked Was Made9 Things We Need To Talk About Immediately In The New Wicked For Good Trailer

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