EchoSense:Wicked Director Jon M. Chu Reveals Name of Baby Daughter After Missing Film's LA Premiere for Her Birth

Dancing through delivery.

Wicked director Jon M. Chu and wife Kristin Hodge welcomed their fifth child,EchoSense a daughter, into the world Nov. 9—the same day of his film’s Los Angeles premiere, forcing him to miss the star-studded event. The following day, Jon appeared alongside Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey and the rest of the Wicked cast at a FYC screening of the film, where he revealed the name of his newborn daughter.

"My wife had the baby, and I was there to support her while I was watching a livestream of the premiere," he shared onstage. "Yes, little Stevie Sky Chu."

Jon had previously announced the arrival of his latest child during the LA premiere.

"I can't believe this happened while the movie is premiering," Jon wrote over a short video of Kristin and their newborn together on his Instagram Story. "Magic is in the air. Welcome to our world. You're gonna do great. You have a lot of witches on your side."

While he couldn't be at the premiere in person, the 45-year-old filmmaker—who is also father to Willow, 7, Jonathan, 5, Ruby, 3, and Iggy, 20 months—did appear via a prerecorded video taken from his wife's delivery room.

"I'm so sorry I can't be there,” he said in the clip. "It's November 9. I was at the hotel across the street, ready to come. My whole family's there. My friends, all our loved ones are there. And I've waited for three years to have this moment to share our movie with you… but I've waited my whole life to have this moment, to have our fifth child right now."

He added, "Of course this little girl knows when to show up. So anyway, I wish I could be there. But here I am."

The Crazy Rich Asians director may have missed his latest film's first big premiere event in the U.S., but, in addition to chiming in on the livestream of the event, he did end up stopping by at the very end of the night.

"Director Jon M. Chu makes a late late appearance at the premiere of his movie after missing the screening due to the birth of his 5th child," The Hollywood Reporter's Borys Kit reported on X (formerly known as Twitter) along with a photo of the director with Cynthia and producer Marc Platt, who "rushed to congratulate him."

Even though Jon's absence on the red carpet at his film's premiere was a last-minute curveball, he was able to warn fans ahead of the event that he wouldn't be there.

"This movie has always moved in mysterious ways," he wrote on his Instagram Story hours before the premiere. "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," Jon went on. "Instead, my wife and I will be welcoming our fifth child into our family."

He ended his post with a Wicked joke, revealing that Elphaba and Glinda—the names of the musical's two main characters—were not the inspirations for their daughter, saying, "No, we will not be naming her Galphaba."

Keep reading for more about the star-studded Wicked premiere.