Wicked Makeup Artist Explains Tin Man and Scarecrow Transformation (Excl)

Wicked: For Good makeup artist Frances Hannon gave Us an inside look at the lengthy transformation process for the Tin Man and Scarecrow to come to life.

“[It took] four hours with the hair, the wigs, the straw and everything, the prosthetics and the hands, and then the costume came afterwards,” Hannon exclusively told Us Weekly at the Wicked: For Good premiere in New York City on Monday, November 17. “But it was really so moving. And I think it really brings something very special to Wicked: For Good.”

Hannon added that getting to hear director Jon M. Chu talk about the final product made the entire process worth it. “It’s amazing,” she said.

Warning: Spoilers below for Wicked: For Good.

Wicked and Wicked: For Good are inspired by the Broadway musical of the same name. (The play was inspired by Gregory Maguire‘s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which took inspiration from The Wizard of Oz.)

Wicked, which was released in 2024, follows the play’s first act while the sequel tackles the second half of the story. The first movie left off with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) learning that The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) does not possess magical powers despite the act he puts on for the residents of Oz.

Part two picks up with Elphaba ousted from Emerald City, now known as the Wicked Witch of the West due to her opposition to the Wizard. The Wizard of Oz’s beloved protagonist Dorothy also arrives in the magical land, where she encounters the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion during her journey to meet the Wizard.

During the Broadway version of the musical, fans learn the backstory behind Dorothy’s companions. Fieyro, who is in a love triangle with Elphaba and Glinda, becomes the Scarecrow, while Boq, the Munchkin, transforms into the Tin Man.

Much like the stage show, Wicked: For Good follows the same storyline with Jonathan Bailey transforming into the Scarecrow and Ethan Slater becoming the Tin Man. Colman Domingo, meanwhile, takes on the voice of the CGI Cowardly Lion, an animal that Elphaba saved from harm as a cub.

Hannon told Us it was a “very hard” challenge keeping the secret of the Scarecrow and Tin Man under wraps during production, in which both movies filmed simultaneously.

“We’ve been talking about it for every year, and we went to that dimension,” she explained. “So it was very hard when what you had to do [was] talk about the story, but you couldn’t mention who’s at the end of that story, and why you did that, to make that happen.”

Hannon said d that both Bailey and Slater were impressed with their characters’ finished looks.

“The transformations were phenomenal. The design was amazing, both Ethan and Jonathan were really moved by it all,” she told Us. “And I think it really helps to see the visual. But what I find the beauty of it is they’re all done practically, but it fills the screen in the IMAX, and you can’t tell one single thing. It’s absolutely perfect.”

When Bailey got in the chair to start his transformation from Fiyero to Scarecrow, Hannon teased that they decided to keep some of the prince’s characteristics in his new look.

“You’ll notice with Fiyero and Scarecrow, you can really still see Fiyero there, and that was really important,” she explained, adding that they opted to keep some of his defining traits for when he reunites with true love Elphaba. “Jon M. Chu really wanted that to happen, because they wanted that attraction and that emotion still to be between the two of them.”

Hannon revealed that one thing they kept for Fiyero was his signature hairstyle. Ginger-haired Slater, for his part, had to say goodbye to some of his character’s colorful elements.

“We kept the Fiyero hairstyle the complete thing, but it’s just straw colored,” she told Us. “Of course, we had to lose all that beautiful red hair [for Boq] and then put that little tin pack on him. But they’re very exciting, and everything leaves the emotion coming through. All that prosthetic doesn’t hurt either character at all by removing them.”

Hannon added that she codesigned Tin Man’s metal look with Mark Julio.

“It was keeping them so fine and thin that you never disturb the actor underneath,” she teased of the ensemble. “And I think that’s what the art of it is.”

Hannon shared that it was a “heart-wrenching” moment for Bailey and Slater’s characters when their fates were revealed.

“It was the pinnacle of what happened to them. Well, Elphaba with Scarecrow, and them leaving together. Maybe there’s a follow-up, maybe there’s three [movies] there,” she teased. “Also, Tin Man’s life and his sadness. I mean, it really came across. Ethan was wonderful. I mean, it just moved everybody.”

Wicked: For Good hits theaters Friday, November 21.