How “Wicked” pulled off that gravity-defying pair of cameos — and others you might've missed (exclusive)

Why [SPOILERS] were ready for their 'fairy goddess' moment.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Wicked.

Who's the mage whose major itinerary is making all Oz merrier? That would be Jon M. Chu and Stephen Schwartz, the masterminds behind the most heartwarming cameos in the big-screen adaptation of Wicked, now in theaters.

From the start, Chu knew that there was no way to make a film adaptation of the Broadway musical and not feature the original leading ladies, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.

Related: Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth reveal their favorite Wicked songs — and they're not what you'd expect

Wicked, which opened on Broadway in 2003, starred Menzel as Elphaba, a green girl who is demonized by the Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Chenoweth as Glinda, the popular girl formerly known as Galinda who forms an unexpected bond with Elphaba. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including nods for Menzel and Chenoweth (Menzel won), and it’s gone on to become a veritable global phenomenon. In short, a Wicked film without Menzel and Chenoweth would be like Oz without a yellow brick road.

"We knew we wanted to honor them,” Chu tells Entertainment Weekly. “Their DNA is all over this. This is the thing that I watched that inspired me and stayed with me for over 20 years. It was about what would give them the most reverence? What was the proper way to honor them? Having them just open the door for someone, it would make me more angry, to be honest, as a fan.”

For the film’s stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who take over as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, Menzel and Chenoweth’s participation wasn’t merely a fun Easter egg for fans, it was a necessity. “We insisted,” Erivo notes. “We were like, ‘This is not happening without them, so where is it?’”

Related: Jon M. Chu says Ariana Grande auditioning for Elphaba in Wicked was a miscommunication

Chu credits Schwartz, Wicked's composer and lyricist, with the idea to extend the “Wiz-O-Mania” sequence in “One Short Day” to allow a hefty musical feature for Menzel and Chenoweth. “We talked about different areas, and then when we talked about Wiz-O-Mania — I felt like there's this hard thing of these backstories and trying to fill this in at this moment,” Chu explains. “But doing it through Kristin and Idina could be wonderful. The fact that they were the wise women of Oz felt so great. And then on top of that, there’s this theater group in Emerald City and the idea that they were the biggest stars in Emerald City was so fun. We love paying homage to them in there.”

Menzel and Chenoweth appear as two enchantresses of Oz, who recount the history of the Grimmerie, which is the magical spell book in Oz, as well as the Wizard’s arrival. Schwartz wrote it specifically for them, then called asking the two Broadway legends if they’d do it. “I said, ‘Just make us look pretty,’” Menzel quips.

With that mandate, there was one edit they needed the production team to make before they would sign off. “We both texted,” Chenoweth explains. “And she said, ‘Have you seen the description of us in the movie?’ It didn't say ‘old and decrepit,’ but it was something like that. So we changed it and we said, ‘No, we're not going to be those ‘wise women.’’”

Adds Menzel, “We said, ‘Can’t we just be beautiful fairy goddesses?’”

Related: Ariana Grande corrects official Wicked social account on 'Popular' lyrics

For his part, Chu wants to state for the record that he had nothing to do with the characters’ description as originally written. “Listen, I don't write the words for that,” he jokes. “I didn't even think of it and when we saw it on the paper, we're like, ‘No, no, come on.’ It was corrected very quickly, let me put it that way.”

Once that was resolved, Chenoweth and Menzel were ready to bring some magic. “We had the best day rehearsing,” Menzel says, while Chenoweth adds, “It was almost like Glinda and Elphaba grown up. It was really fun.”

Though Menzel and Chenoweth’s cameos are the most flashy, they’re not the only familiar faces to pop up in the Wiz-O-Mania sequence — Schwartz and original book writer Winnie Holzman also make an appearance. Schwartz plays the guard at the Emerald City gate who announces, “The Wizard will see you now,” and Holzman is a member of the acting troupe.

Related: Wicked director Jon M. Chu misses L.A. premiere for birth of baby daughter, sends sweet video from hospital

"It took a lot of convincing to get them into this movie because they resisted it,” Chu says. “I was like, ‘You guys have to be in this.’ We didn't know where, and then once Stephen wrote that section to Wiz-O-Mania, it became very clear that Stephen had to do, ‘The Wizard will see you now.’ That's the moment.”

"Winnie actually feels like she is from Oz,” Chu adds of his decision to place her amidst the Emerald City hoi polloi. “She is a very particular, unique character.”

Wicked devotees will have no shortage of cameos to look out for while watching (and rewatching) the film. “There’s probably a lot of cameos that you missed,” he notes. “There's a lot of past Elphabas and Glindas not just in this movie, but also in the other movie. I wouldn't say there's a ton that I would point out to you. I want you to find it yourself, but keep looking.”

As for Menzel and Chenoweth, the two ladies were given a lot of freedom to play and discover their new characters within this Ozian world. For Menzel, it was a particularly delightful experience getting to watch Chenoweth build a character from the ground up (Chenoweth was attached to Wicked from the first developmental workshop, but Menzel wasn’t cast until the San Francisco tryout).

"The ideas just flow,” Menzel gushes of seeing Chenoweth at work. “It's so inspiring, whether it's funny or emotional, her choice is just what it is. You're just so free, and you don't judge yourself and you let things come. It's pretty astounding to watch her come to life. As an artist, I can get in my head about a lot of stuff, but she's just so free.”

Both Chenoweth and Menzel shared photos of their day on set on their social media accounts.

"One short day," Chenoweth wrote, alongside a carousel of images of her in costume as the "wise woman" and photos of her sharing special moments on set with Grande and Erivo. "The most magical time back in the emerald city. Who saw @wickedmovie this weekend?!?"

Menzel also shared her own slideshow of images, including shots of her rehearsing her cameo with Chenoweth and photos of her with Holzman, Schwartz, and others. "This was a special day," she wrote. "Sisterhood all around. #WickedMovie."

Related: Wicked's Ariana Grande tears up revealing what Kristin Chenoweth told her before Glinda audition (exclusive)

The moment also allows Chenoweth and Menzel to pay tribute to some of the most memorable aspects of their portrayals, including their signature vocalizations and Chenoweth’s skill with a magic wand. But audiences will likely delight most in the brief appearance of Menzel’s use of her iconic “Defying Gravity” vocal riff (also known as Elphaba’s war cry). Though they were encouraged to play around and improvise, Menzel says that nod to her original performance was scripted by Schwartz.

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Related: Wicked review: This musical adaptation hits the right notes, but lacks visual variety

"That's a Stephen Schwartz conspiracy,” Chu confirms. “I don't know how he cooks up his delights in there, but when I heard it, I was like, ‘You’ve got to do this. We’ve got to give them their key moments in this.’”

Understandable, considering that Menzel and Chenoweth changed Wicked for good.

You can watch the full video with Erivo, Grande, Menzel, and Chenoweth below.