Warner Bros. has plans to move forward with a remake of the classic The Wizard of Oz, reports Deadline.
Planning to shoot from the script to the 1939 version (which, though it is by far the best known, wasn’t the first filmic iteration of the L. Frank Baum story), WB is said to be in talks with Robert Zemeckis to helm the property.
Zemeckis, meanwhile, is currently working on a performance-capture remake of The Beatles animated film, Yellow Submarine, and was announced to make a return to live action with a time travel story, Timeless (though that has been called into some question with the news that Phillip Noyce is now attached to potentially the same project.)
Warner Bros.’ version of The Wizard of Oz would go up against Disney’s planned Oz-prequel, Oz, the Great and Powerful, in development now with Sam Raimi attached to direct.
Summertime Entertainment, meanwhile, has planned an animated sequel to the original Oz tale entitled Dorothy of Oz, planned for release next year.
UPDATE: TheWrap has confirmed that Zemeckis does not have plans to direct the remake.
