Another look into L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” books is on the way, this time targeting the small screen. Deadline reports that a series based on the forthcoming Oz-inspired young adult novel “Dorothy Must Die” is being developed for The CW by “Heroes” creator Tim Kring, Adam Armus and Nora Kay Foster.
“Dorothy Must Die” won’t see publication until 2014 but a prequel novella, “No Place Like Oz,” will be published in November with the following official description:
Dorothy clicked her heels three times and returned to Kansas. The end… or was it? Although she’s happy to be home with Aunt Em, Dorothy has regretted her decision to leave Oz ever since. So when a mysterious gift arrives at her doorstep on her sixteenth birthday, Dorothy jumps at the chance to return to the glittering city that made her a star.
Setting off for the Emerald City, Dorothy is eager to be reunited with her friends: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion. But she soon discovers that in the time she’s been gone, Oz has changed—and Dorothy has, too. This time, the yellow brick road leads her down a very different path. And before her journey is through, Dorothy will find that the line between wicked and good has become so blurred she’s not sure which side of it she’s on.
It has been a busy time as of late for the Oz world. Earlier this year, Sam Raimi’s Oz The Great and Powerful offered a prequel to the Baum series. Next year, Summertime Entertainment will offer their animated take, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return. Timur Bekmambetov, meanwhile, is developing his own series, “Warriors of Oz,” for Syfy while NBC is developing their own take, “Emerald City.”
Plus starting on September 20, The Wizard of Oz will be celebrating its 75th anniversary with an IMAX 3D release for one week. After the IMAX run, The Wizard of Oz will arrive as a five-disc box set (which includes a disc playable on 3D televisions) on October 1.
