Kenya Barris To Write & Direct ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Remake For Warner Bros.

The original Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, is ranked as one of the most influential and greatest movies of all time

Warner Brothers have recently approved a modern reimagining of the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz. A reimagined version of the beloved drama fantasy which starred Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton will be worked on by writer/director Kenya Barris. For the unversed, Barris is an American film and television writer, producer, director, and actor best known for creating the ABC hit series Black-ish.

However, the original Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, is ranked as one of the most influential and greatest movies of all time. The iconic picture by Metro Goldwyn Mayer has been the inspiration for many film and television and Broadway adaptations. Meanwhile, The Wiz, which starred the likes of musical sensations Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, was released on the big screen with much acclaim in 1975.

The reimagining version is completely separate from New Line’s previously announced retelling of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ New Line’s version will be helmed by Watchmen director Nicole Kassell and is described as a ‘fresh take’ on Dorothy and the Land of Oz. However, other details about Barris’s version have been kept under tight wraps.

Both projects are based on L. Frank Baum’s beloved book ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ has been retold on the big and small screen many times over the years, the most famous being the classic 1939 musical starring Judy Garland. It follows a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy who is swept away by a tornado and finds herself, and her dog Toto, in the colourful Land of Oz.

Meanwhile, the official synopsis of Wizard Of Oz reads, “When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to meet the Wizard, and en route, they meet a Scarecrow that needs a brain, a Tin Man missing a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West to earn his help.

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Credit: Official YouTube Channel Of Warner Bros. Entertainment