Nicole Kassell, a director and executive producer on HBO's Watchmen series, has been tapped by Warner Bros. to helm their new take on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Deadline is reporting that Kassell will create a fresh take on the L. Frank Baum story for Warner Bros. subsidiary New Line Cinema. The director beat out numerous others as New Line sought a reimagining of the classic story first published in 1900. The story led to multiple follow-up stories and many adaptations, the most famous of which is the 1939 musical film. There's no word on how close the film will hew to the original story or whether it will be a musical.
Kassell directed the pilot of Watchmen along with two other episodes and executive produced the series. Her role saw her lay out the visual world of the series, and her ability to adapt a popular series and breathe new life into it is what seemingly won her the new directing gig. Kassell would win an Emmy for her producing work on the series and a Director's Guild of America award for directing. Her relationship with Warner Bros. is long, having helmed episodes of The Leftovers, Westworld and the upcoming HBO Max series The Baby.
“I am incredibly honored to join Temple Hill and New Line in bringing this beloved classic to the screen,” Kassell said. “While the 1939 musical is part of my DNA, I am exhilarated and humbled by the responsibility of re-imagining such a legendary tale. The opportunity to examine the original themes — the quest for courage, love, wisdom and home — feels more timely and urgent than ever. These are profoundly iconic shoes to fill, and I am eager to dance alongside these heroes of my childhood as we pave a newly minted yellow brick road.”
With the story in the public domain, stories set in the world of Oz are frequent. But certain elements of the popular 1939 film are off-limits to most as the rights are owned by Warner Bros. Kassell, however, won't have that limitation.
Outside of Warner Bros., Universal will finally bring the popular musical Wicked to the screen with Jon M. Chu directing. Based on the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West set in the world of Oz, the project is likely the most popular work inspired by, but not based upon, Baum's stories.
Source: Deadline