More Into the Woods Details: Cuts, Tweaks & When We'll Hear Meryl Streep's New Number

Remember that “beautiful and spectacular” number that Stephen Sondheim wrote for Meryl Streep for the Into the Woods movie, only for director Rob Marshall to spill that it landed on the cutting room floor? Well, thankfully, it’s not gone forever, and we will be able to hear it. Just not in movie theaters.

In an interview with Variety, the Oscar-nominated director revealed that the new song for the Witch, titled “She’ll Be Back,” which was shot and then cut after an early screening, will be included on the home release in 2015. He called the choice “painful, especially a new Sondheim song which is so thrilling.” Sondheim and James Lapine (who wrote the book for the show and the screenplay for the film) were of course on board with the decision. We imagine the song may also be included on the film's soundtrack, which will be released on December 16. 

So what can we look forward to when the movie hits theaters this Christmas? Meryl Streep breaking it down about greens (and nothing but greens) live. While a majority of the vocals were studio-recorded, Streep performed the rap portion of the prologue live. “It was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen,” says music producer and supervisor Michael Higham.

As expected, some cuts have been made (the movie currently comes in about half an hour shorter than the show’s two and a half hour runtime) and some lyrics have been tweaked. Additionally, Tracey Ullman has upped the tempo of some of Jack’s Mother’s bits.

In addition to Meryl Streep, the film stars James Corden, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Billy Magnussen and Lilla Crawford. Take a peek behind the scenes with this exciting featurette!