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Wicked director Jon M. Chu is set to receive the 2026 Cinematic Imagery Award from The Art Directors Guild. The ceremony will take place on February 28, 2026, at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown.
“Between imagination and the screen, there is an entire world built by artists,” said Jon M. Chu. “On Wicked and Wicked: For Good, I witnessed firsthand how production designers, art directors, set decorators, and extraordinary crews created Oz not just as a setting, but as a living, breathing emotional landscape. I share this honor with the countless craftspeople who poured their hearts into those worlds, and I am deeply grateful to the Art Directors Guild and its members for this recognition.”
The ADG also announced last week that Wicked: For Good and Wicked: One Wonderful Night garnered nominations for Excellence in Production Design Awards. See the full list of nominations here.
The ADG’s Cinematic Imagery Award is given to a filmmaker whose body of work has significantly enriched the visual experience of storytelling and elevated the visibility of the art department. Previous recipients include Jason Reitman, Baz Luhrmann, Jane Campion, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, and George Lucas.
“Jon M. Chu’s work exemplifies the power of cinematic imagery to move audiences and deepen storytelling,” said Dina Lipton, President of the Art Directors Guild. “His bold visual language and unwavering commitment to collaboration have helped shine a spotlight on the essential role of the art department, and we are thrilled to recognize his remarkable contributions with the 2026 Cinematic Imagery Award.”
Previously announced honorees for the 30th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards include Bo Welch, Jann Engel, Tom Southwell, and Stephen McNally, who will receive the ADG’s Lifetime Achievement Awards.
About Jon M. Chu
Jon M. Chu is a filmmaker, known for directing movies like Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, and more. Chu’s most recent film is Wicked: For Good, the second installment of the two-part Wicked adaptation. Opening on November 21, the movie brought in $150 million in NORTH AMERICA during its opening weekend, plus $76 million internationally, bringing its global total to $226 million. Wicked: For Good marks the biggest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical, beating a record set by the first film last year.
Other recent projects include the critically acclaimed adaptation of the musical In the Heights for Warner Bros., as well as the worldwide phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians, which was nominated for numerous awards, including a SAG Award, a Golden Globe, and a PGA Award.
Upcoming, Chu is attached to develop and direct the highly anticipated biopic for Britney Spears based on her memoir, The Woman in Me, with Universal as well as Dr. Seuss’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! with Warner Bros and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot and the Crazy Rich Asians Broadway musical. His previous films include GI. Joe: Retaliation, Now You See Me 2, Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, and many mor,e representing over 1.3 billion dollars in the worldwide box office. His memoir, Viewfinder, is his journey from growing up in SILICON VALLEY to transitioning to Hollywood and helming major studio projects, released in Summer 2024.
