Warner Bros. has brought on black-ish creator Kenya Barris for the studio’s remake of The Wizard of Oz, reports Deadline.
Barris will write and direct the “modern reimagining” of the beloved 1939 musical film, but is apparently keeping any further details under wraps. He will also be producing under his Khalabo Ink Society banner.
In what’s sure to be a confusing situation for everyone not involved, New Line Cinema previously announced its own “fresh take” on Wizard of Oz in February 2021 with Nicole Kassell (HBO’s Watchmen) helming the film. It’s worth noting, however, that Warner Bros. owns the rights to the original Judy Garland-starring movie. Both of the upcoming remakes are based on the same original source material: L. Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
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Prior to the Wizard of Oz project, Barris wrote the screenplays for films like his upcoming feature directorial debut You People, Girls Trip, and Coming 2 America.
Directly up next for Barris are two major Netflix projects. Entergalactic, his upcoming animated series with Kid Cudi, lands on the streamer in September. He’s also completing production on You People, which Barris co-wrote with Jonah Hill. The star-studded cast features Hill, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nia Long, David Duchovny, and more.
Barris has a full slate after that. Along with penning the script for the White Men Can’t Jump remake starring Jack Harlow, he will be writing and directing a feature film about Richard Pryor, making an animated movie inspired by the songs and music of Bob Marley, and co-producing a feature-length musical about Juneteenth with Pharrell Williams.
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