Wicked Director Teases Big Name For Cowardly Lion Casting

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande aren’t the actors who originated the parts of Elphaba the Wicked Witch and Glenda the Good Witch, but they’ve certainly made them their own. The 2024 megahit Wicked has made the duo a sensation, supplanting in the minds of some viewers not just The Wizard of Oz stars Margaret Hamilton and Billie Burke, but even Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who first embodied the parts on stage.

Because of the cultural impact of those performers, Wicked director Jon M. Chu is taking big swings when casting the Cowardly Lion for the upcoming sequel Wicked: For Good. According to a new profile at Deadline, Chu already made a pitch to a major star via Instagram. “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,'” recalled Chu. The director’s boldness paid off with a positive response. “He was like, ‘Why the fuck not, let’s go!’ Chu said. “And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.”

Readers might notice that Chu doesn’t share the identity of the actor, as he prefers to keep a surprise. He teased Deadline, saying, “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.”

But we here at Den of Geek are not so good at waiting. So we’re going to fill our time by speculating at who might provide their voice to the courage-deficient feline.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Before helming Wicked, Chu made In the Heights, a big screen adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical. Chu may have moved on to other worlds, but he certainly hasn’t forgotten his experience working with the famed songwriter and performer, who had a bit part in In the Heights. Sure, its weird that Chu would have reached out via Instagram instead of texting or calling, but who knows? Broadway’s a weird place, and as Bluey fans know, Miranda’s game to lend his voice to animals.

Channing Tatum

Another blast from Chu’s past who loves to do cameos is Channing Tatum. Tatum briefly appeared in Chu’s 2008 movie Step Up 2: The Streets, and later took a bigger role in another Chu-helmed sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Neither of these projects gave the director and star much time together. But if we’ve learned anything from This is the End, The Hateful Eight, Bullet Train, and more, Tatum’s pretty game to show up in a movie and be weird.

Bradley Cooper

You know who else likes to drop by and be weird for a few minutes? Bradley Cooper, the guy who pops up in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves as Michelle Rodriguez’s diminutive lost love and in Superman as imperialistic Jor-El. Furthermore, Cooper knows how to bring to life an animal character and how to do a silly voice, as anyone who’s seen a Guardians of the Galaxy movie can tell you.

Nathan Lane

A Broadway legend who’s known to hang out with lions, Nathan Lane would be a fun pick for joining the cast of Wicked. He’s a master at playing nervous characters, and would certainly make the most of even the few lines that Chu could give him. Everything’s better with Nathan Lane in it, so why wouldn’t Chu reach out to him.

David Zaslav

Yes, Zaslav runs Warner Bros. and Wicked is a Universal production. But listen, the guy already stuck his face into The Wizard of Oz when it played as an abomination against all things great and powerful at the Las Vegas Sphere. Further, who better to portray a coward than Zaslav? It makes too much sense.

Wicked: For Good comes to theaters on November 21, 2025.