‘Wicked’ Director Jon M. Chu Virtually Attends Premiere From Hospital As His Wife Gives Birth

Jon M. Chu had to dance through life on Saturday, November 9, as two of his babies were born at the same time.

The director, 45, missed the Los Angeles premiere of his highly anticipated movie adaptation of the musical Wicked, as his wife, Kristin Hodge, went into labor with their fifth child.

“This movie has always moved in mysterious ways,” Chu wrote on his Instagram Story, announcing he wouldn’t be in attendance at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. “Today is a day I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Two babies (a movie and a little girl) all at one time and I truly couldn’t be happier. I won’t be able to be at the Wicked Premiere tonight with all of you… there was a change of plans at about 4 a.m. this morning…”

Chu went on to say he’d be welcoming his fifth child into the world and, no, they “will not be naming her Galphaba.”

“Send all the love to our insanely talented cast and crew tonight. They deserve it and send a little extra welcome to my little girl bursting her bubble and coming into our world any moment now. If she can even have a fraction of the bravery that my wife, @cynthiaerivo @arianagrande @michelleyeoh_official or @marissa_edob has then she too will defy gravity one day.”

The director also shared a photo of his freshly pressed tuxedo, writing, “Should I just wear the suit for the birth?”

Still, he made sure to tap into the premiere’s livestream and dropped a few comments.

“I’m pretending I’m there while my wife pushes,” Chu wrote on the Instagram Live, adding of a mention on the red carpet, “I love a shoutout!! Hahaha this hospital thinks I’m crazy.”

A few hours later, Chu updated his followers with a video of his wife holding their newborn baby girl. “I can’t believe this happened while the movie is premiering,” he wrote. “Magic is in the air. Happy Premiere Day!! Welcome to our world, you’re gonna do great. You have a lot of witches on your side.”

Chu and Hodge are already parents to Willow, 7, Jonathan Heights, 5, Ruby, 3, and Iggy, 20 months.

At the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards in October, the In the Heights director told Extra that his fifth child is his “third kid during Wicked,” as he began the process of adapting the musical in 2021.

“I’ve just finished the movie, so I’m sort of just letting everything go and just starting to enjoy it. I have a new baby coming, so in my head, that’s what I’m focused on,” Chu told the outlet. “She could come any day now. It’s going to be a little daughter.”

The Wicked premiere brought out a slew of stars, including the original leads of the musical, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, as well as the new Elphaba and Glinda: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Jennifer Lopez also dazzled on the red carpet alongside the likes of the film’s stars Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater, plus other celebrities including Ashley Tisdale, Normani, Frankie Grande, Sarah Paulson, Ben Platt, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Troye Sivan and Sophia Bush.

“No words. Absolutely everything I could have hoped for!” Tisdale, 39, wrote on Instagram, tagging Chu and the cast. “I dare you to go see @wickedmovie and try not to cry.”

Platt, 31, echoed those sentiments, sharing on his Instagram Story, “The triumph of the @wickedmovie cannot be overstated. A completely brilliant, once-in-a-generation adaptation by @jonmchu this is entirely worthy of its source material. I couldn’t have dreamed it better, and we rarely get movie musicals executed this lovingly, skillfully and thoroughly.”

He added: “@cynthiaerivo and @arianagrande are giving knockout performances that will live in the musical movie pantheon forever. I feel so deeply proud of them and I know everyone who loves this musical dearly will be too.”