Lin-Manuel Miranda Asked Director Jon M. Chu to Cast Him as a Munchkin in ‘Wicked’: ‘It Would’ve Been Distracting’

After Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborated with director Jon M. Chu on the 2021 movie musical “In The Heights,” the pair almost worked together on 2024’s biggest Broadway adaptation: “Wicked.”

During a recent appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Miranda explained that he had his eye on the role of a munchkin who delivers a critical line in the opening scene of “Wicked.”

“In the opening number of the show, this one munchkin runs out and goes, ‘Is it true you were her friend?’ Because, man, I don’t know if you’ve seen a live production of ‘Wicked,’ but sometimes they really put some sauce on the ball when they deliver that line,” Miranda said.

He continued, “It’s where the story starts. So I was like, ‘I really wanted to do that line, Jon.’ And I was not cast.”

Miranda admitted that “it would’ve been distracting” to see him in Munchkin Land and went on to praise the woman who got the role, Kirsty Anne Shaw, for her performance.

“The young woman who does it in the movie is great,” Miranda said. “She does it very earnestly. I would have done very Regina George, ‘Mean Girls like,’ ‘Is it true you were her friend?’ Didn’t make the cut.”

Chu previously revealed in the “Wicked” director’s commentary that he received “many calls” from Miranda about the role, who may have even “tweeted about it” in a last-ditch effort to join the cast. However, Chu agreed that Miranda’s involvement would have been “too distracting.”

“Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo as the Wicked Witch of the West and Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good, has been nominated for 10 Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. The film received nods for best picture, lead actress, supporting actress, original score, production design, makeup and hairstyling, visual effects, editing, costume design and sound.