The Wizard of Oz has been irresistible fodder for re-invention for years. There’s The Wiz, of course, and countless cartoon versions, but David Lynch threw Oz references into Wild at Heart, and who can forget “Henry Gale” on Lost?
Now the latest person to take on the tried-and-true story is Pras Michel, better known as the Fugees frontman. Variety reports that he’s optioned the rights to Dark Oz, a comic book series that he intends to make into a trilogy of films. Aaron Denenberg, Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr wrote the original books, which find an older Dorothy returning to a darker version of Oz.
Pras isn’t exactly a one-man studio, so I’m not entirely sure how big-budget this is going to be. But how can you do flying monkeys on a budget?? Pras’ other producing credit, Skid Row, was a low-budget documentary about homelessness. So will this be his step into a big-budget comic book adaptation, or are we going to catch up with Dorothy on the cheap? Either way, this project sounds just weird and disturbing enough that it just might be a success. That, or it will be never be made.
