The CW is ready to take a step through the looking glass and try their hand at an adaptation of the classic novel Alice in Wonderland. They’re putting a modern-day version of the story into development. Wunderland would take place in present-day Los Angeles and feature an adult version of Alice as the protagonist.
The updated version of Lewis Carroll’s book is being written by The Playboy Club creator Chad Hodge, according to Deadline. The modern-day Alice will be a police detective who discovers a hidden world just beneath the surface of the Los Angeles streets where she does her job. Sort of a police procedural with a fantast side to it, and very different from how we generally think of the Alice in Wonderland story.
The CW has another, similar project in development as well; they’re looking to adapt the classic story of Sleepy Hollow for a series. That too would be a contemporary look at the classic. Since there’s a similar project in the works at Fox, it may well be that the CW will drop that one in favor of Wunderland. Or they may well go forward with both; after all, either concept sounds fairly well suited to the network, while I have trouble seeing a fantasy/mythical series like Sleepy Hollow really getting off the ground at Fox.
Both stories have been adapted for the screen multiple times, so it may come down to a question of how a fresh look at old material can be achieved – as well as whether viewers are willing to give it another go. The most recent look at Alice was Tim Burton’s feature, which offered a typical Burton skew, along with, of course, Johnny Depp. The CW’s project sounds like it’s on the other side of the spectrum.
