A horror film set in the universe of The Wizard of Oz is in the works at New Line Cinema, according to THR. The script is in early development, but it will be based on the universe created by L. Frank Baum in his 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” The book was, of course, turned into the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan Ray Bolger, Burt Lahr and Margaret Hamilton. There were 13 sequels to the first novel, and the first book was turned into a Broadway musical in 1902.
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There have been a number of adaptations of the film, which was shown every year on TV in America from 1959-1991. These include The Wiz featuring an all African-American cast, including Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Richard Pryor and Lena Horne, and the more recent Oz The Great and Powerful. That film starred Mila Kunis, James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Zach Braff and Joey King and was directed by Sam Raimi. The TV show Emerald City ran its first season on NBC, and used lore from all 14 books.
The pitch for the horror film reportedly came from Mike Van Waes, who had a script called Hammerspace on the Black List, the list of films that are “most liked” and not yet produced in Hollywood. Hammerspace sold to Warner Bros. Pictures last year. Van Waes also sold a book proposal called “Peeves” to Harper Collins, which was then picked up by Fox Animation.
What do you guys think of a Wizard of Oz-based horror film? Are there characters from the novel series that you’d want to see in the film? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.
