Many people have tried to take the classic story of The Wizard of Oz and make it something…different. Most recently, James Franco took a disappointing stab at it in Oz The Great and Powerful, while the NBC series Emerald City was a lackluster retelling that only lasted a season. Now, it looks like Warner Bros is taking advantage of those last few failed stories and creating their own modern take on the iconic story. What could go wrong?
Deadline reports that Kenya Barris, the mind behind Black-ish and its various spinoff shows, will be writing and directing a new take on Wizard Of Oz for Warner Bros. His company Khalabo Ink Society will be producing.
While most of the production details are under wraps, the company is stressing that this will be a “reimagining” of the classic tale, which is based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from 1900. Of course, the 1939 musical version is the one fans all know and love, though it’s unclear which direction Barris will take. There are 14 books in the original series, so realistically, any of them could be in the running!
This isn’t the first movie to take place in the Oz Multiverse. The highly anticipated adaptation of Wicked, an unofficial prequel to Wizard of Oz, is currently beginning production with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo set to star. So…it looks like we will all be visiting Oz at some point soon…whether we want to or not.