With Wicked , director Jon M. Chu had to make a two-decade-old stage musical based on a novel from 30 years ago inspired by a movie almost 90 years old that adapted a book from 1900 feel fresh. He did that, in part, by casting a pop star as one of the leads, putting Ariana Grande as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The strategy worked, as Wicked became a screen sensation, the fifth highest grossing movie of the year. And if the sequel Wicked: For Good matches that number, Chu hopes he’ll have enough pull to work with another pop star: Britney Spears.

In an interview with Esquire , Chu enthused about the depths he found in the singer’s 2023 memoir The Woman in Me . “She did what she had to do to survive. She deserves a story that honors that,” Chu declared. “Now

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