If Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful didn’t quite satisfy your thirst for a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, then you’re in luck as RAMstar Studios has announced that it is developing an adaptation of Donald Abbot’s 1991 novel How the Wizard Came to Oz.
According to FlickSided, Abbot himself is penning the script from the movie, which will reportedly be R-rated and will follow Oscar Diggs from his childhood through to his days as a circus stuntman and his eventual journey to Oz, where he would become known as a powerful wizard. Apparently, Nathan Fillion is wanted for the role of Oscar in the $35 million-budgeted film, although it’s unclear whether he has any interest in the project.
How the Wizard Came to Oz isn’t the only Oz-related project in the works, with Disney set to release an adaptation of the hit musical Wicked on Christmas 2019.
Originally published October 15, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
