‘Black-ish’ Creator Kenya Barris to Direct and Write Warner Bros. Remake of ‘Wizard of Oz’
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Toto, we’re not in the 1930s anymore. Warner Brothers has approved a modern reimagining of the 1939 classic film The Wizard of Oz with Kenya Barris at the helm, Rolling Stone can confirm.
Barris — the beloved creator and writer of Black-ish, Grown-ish, and Mixed-ish — will be tasked with writing, directing, and producing the upcoming film, which will serve as a “modern reimagining” of the original. (Variety described it as a “fresh take” on the classic.)
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The planned Warner Bros. film is separate from a previously-planned retelling by New Line. The original film, starring Judy Garland as a Kansas girl who is swept away by a tornado and finds herself in the mythical Land of Oz, was based on the 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum.
The new film from Barris comes as he closes off post-production on his film directorial debut, titled You People, for Netflix. The cast includes Jonah Hill, Eddie Murphy, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, among others, and follows a new couple and their families as they navigate modern love amid culture clashes, societal expectations, and generational differences.
Barris’ credits include writing the screenplay for Girls Trip, The Witches, and Coming 2 America. He’s also working on a remake of 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump.
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