'Wicked: For Good' Director Teases Which Actor Is Voicing Cowardly Lion

Wicked fans are roaring after director Jon M. Chu gave a major hint about the identity of the actor who will be voicing the Cowardly Lion in the colorful sequel.

Chu, 45, revealed that he sent a DM to a notable star on Instagram to ask him if he wanted the part in Wicked: For Good. The response he received was pretty iconic if you ask Us.

“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,’” the filmmaker recalled while speaking with Deadline on Thursday, October 16. “He was like, ‘Why the f*** not, let’s go!’ And then we went ahead and recorded the lines.”

While he didn’t want to give too much away about the actor’s identity prior to the film’s November release, Chu teased, “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.”

Fans got a glimpse of the adorable Cowardly Lion all grown up in the latest trailer that dropped on September 24. Hiding his eyes behind his tail, the Cowardly Lion accompanies Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow to Emerald City as they try to help Dorothy get back to Kansas. The scene directly ties into the story of the original Wizard of Oz circa 1939. The Wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West.

The newest iteration of the Cowardly Lion first appeared as the innocent cub that Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) rescued from a cage and set free in the forest in 2024’s Wicked. The moment brought the characters closer together, further igniting a romantic spark between them.

Many have already thrown out guesses as to which A-lister will be lending his voice to the character, including Lin Manuel Miranda, Jack Black, Liam Neeson, John Cena and Pedro Pascal.

One person wrote on x, “imagine the lion starts singing and it’s morgan freeman 💀.”

“I hope it’s Werner Herzog,” a second X user wrote, while a third said, “This sounds like something Edward Norton would do. It’s a very Edward Norton thing.”

“Liam Neeson, donald glover, Nathan Lane, Morgan freeman or John Goodman . It has to be one of these actors,” a fourth person wrote, while a fifth said, “I got my money on de niro.”

Chu has also remained mum on exactly which actress will be portraying Dorothy in Wicked: For Good after she was seen from behind in the trailer.

“Well, we definitely did cast Dorothy. You see her in some of our teasers,” Chu told Cinema Blend in December 2024. “How much do you see of Dorothy? … I can’t confirm or deny how much you see of her. I will say that I do think it’s important for, whoever Dorothy is to you, to try to respect that as much as possible. But does The Wizard of Oz and our movie intersect in movie two more than ever? 100 percent.”

Fans of the tale may already know Bailey, 37, will see his character turn into the Scarecrow while Ethan Slater’s Boq will ultimately transform into the Tin Man.

In addition to dropping Easter eggs about the Cowardly Lion, Chu teased that Wicked: For Good will be “part monster movie.”

“Elphaba’s a superhero in this one. I mean that opening, cold open, she comes down,” Chu said of the character leaning into the baddie persona in the second film, which was also highlighted in the final trailer.

“We wanted to show how powerful she really was. I think this is how you show a superhero, especially these women as superheroes, and not have to fit into what a guy’s superhero is, the stereotype of it all,” he remarked. “Elphaba’s her own person and Glinda could be too. It’s also the origin story of Glinda the Good.”

Wicked: For Good is due out in theaters November 21.