A new yellow brick road will be made as Black-ish creator Kenya Barris signs up to direct the Wizard of Oz remake for Warner Bros. The film was announced in 2021. It has been described as a “fresh take” of the Frank Baum classic novel. Details are scarce, but it will take hallmark elements of the story that people know well, specifically knowing from the 1939 musical, and take liberties for this “fresh take.”
The Wizard of Oz remake has had some issues, although it is barely off the ground. Nicole Kassell (Watchmen) was set to direct but departed from the project for no known reasons. Drafts of the screenplay were written by Darren Lemke (Shazam!) and duo Neil Widener and Gavin James.
Black-ish creator Kenya Barris lands directing job for Wizard of Oz remake
Before landing the directing duties of the reimagined Wizard of Oz, Kenya Barris made it big with Black-ish. The sitcom won an Emmy and was nominated for over 20 Emmys. The ABC series ended this year after eight seasons. It starred Anthony Anderson (Law & Order), Tracee Ellis Ross (Girlfriends), Marcus Scribner (The Good Dinosaur), Miles Brown (Arcane), and Marsai Martin (PAW Patrol: The Movie). It also had two spinoffs, Grown-ish and Mixed-ish, which he also wrote and executive produced.
Wizard of Oz will help keep the Black-ish creator busy. Later this year, he will release his first feature-length on Netflix with You People with Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Outside of directing duties, he is writing and producing the remake of White Men Can’t Jump with Black-ish co-writer Doug Hall. The remake will star Lance Reddick, J. Alphonse Nicholson (P-Valley), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Teyana Taylor (Coming 2 America). He will also write Uptown Saturday, which will star Kevin Hart and be directed by Rick Famuyiwa (The Mandalorian).
