Todd McFarlane's Wizard Of Oz Updates: Is The Movie Still Happening?
Is Todd McFarlane's planned "twisted" take on The Wizard Of Oz still on the agenda? L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz was published way back in 1900 and launched a series of novels about Kansas girl Dorothy embarking on adventures in the fantasy Land of Oz. The books have been adapted countless times in the last century or so, with 1939's The Wizard Of Oz starring Judy Garland considered a masterpiece. This technicolor fantasy had a troubled production that went through multiple directors, but none of that friction impacted the end result.
Other notable adaptations include the 1985 sequel Return To Oz - which featured a much darker on the source material - Sam Raimi's prequel Oz The Great And Powerful and short-lived TV series Emerald City. One of the more unique takes on The Wizard Of Oz came with Todd McFarlane's Twisted Land Of Oz toy series in 2003. This presented radically different takes on classic characters, with Dorothy wearing an outfit that looks more in line with 50 Shades Of Grey, while Toto is a giant monster and characters like the Scarecrow look like horror movie villains.
Todd McFarlane was once attached to direct a take on The Wizard Of Oz-inspired by this line, but is it still happening?
Todd McFarlane became attached to helm a movie inspired by his Twisted Land Of Oz series in 2007, though development on the Warner Bros project was somewhat confusing. History Of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson was hired to write an Oz script by the studio, though it was later revealed by the writer he was penning a Wizard Of Oz script he pitched himself that wasn't based on McFarlane's concepts.
Instead, his screenplay was to be a sequel following Dorothy's granddaughter heading to Oz. If this was the case it appears Todd McFarlane didn't get that memo, as he mentioned Olson as the writer in several interviews like this conversation with MTV and stated in 2009 he didn't like Olson's first draft which was much too soft. He also compared his take on Dorothy to Ripley.
In 2009 reports surfaced Dakota Fanning was linked to Todd McFarlane's take on Wizard Of Oz, though her involvement was never confirmed. The director also revealed more details, including that he was willing to compromise with the studio on certain aspects, but updates on the project soon went quiet.
There's been essentially no updates on Todd McFarlane's Wizard Of Oz movie since 2009, so it's safe to assume the project isn't moving ahead. McFarlane's dark sensibilities never seemed like a great fit for what would have been a PG-13 blockbuster, and the fact he was unaware his writer was developing a script that had nothing to do with his concept isn't a great sign in hindsight.
Instead of Todd McFarlane's Wizard Of Oz, the director is still developing a hard R reboot of his comic Spawn, which has Jamie Foxx attached. McFarlane has been talking up his gritty version for over a decade now, but there's no word on when it will head before cameras.