Some motion pictures ought to be left alone.
“Casablanca.” “Citizen Kane.” Even “Again to the Future.” Hollywood studios could have remake mania, however even movie executives know there are some titles that shouldn’t be touched.
For a lot of film followers, “The Wizard of Oz” falls into that class. Sure, we’ve had a musical spin on the story (1978’s “The Wiz”) and numerous prequels and spinoffs (1985’s “Return to Oz,” 2013’s “Oz the Nice and Highly effective”).
The unique stays so magical, so outstanding, {that a} remake appears a idiot’s errand. It even simply debuted at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Inform that to Kenya Barris. The “Black-ish” creator introduced he was reimagining the 1939 movie basic for a brand new viewers in 2022.
The finished screenplay, in line with a January 2024 Selection article, finds Dorothy dwelling in an residence advanced in Inglewood, Calif. and contains a protagonist of shade.
So the place are the updates?
Barris’ IMDB web page has no itemizing for a “Wizard of Oz” movie. We haven’t heard any official information in regards to the venture in additional than a yr.
No casting bulletins. No potential launch dates..
Barris initially promised loads of Identiy Politcs within the new model. The story shall be set in a black neighborhood, and he informed the press the movie would characteristic LGBTQ+ illustration.
“Now we’re going to show a mirror on the place we’re at proper now and take disparate characters from the LGBTQ neighborhood, from totally different cultural communities and socioeconomic communities, and inform a narrative that displays the world. I feel that is the perfect time to try this.”
He made these feedback in 2022.
Right this moment, Hollywood is backpedaling furiously on all issues woke. Disney simply ditched a Colin Kaepernick docuseries by Oscar-winner Spike Lee. The Mouse Home famously scuttled a trans storyline in its “Win or Lose” PIxar sequence.
Woke late-night host Stephen Colbert obtained a pink slip from his CBS bosses earlier this yr.
A saucy denims advert by “It” actress Sydney Sweeney proved a smash for American Eagle, and the starlet felt no have to apologize for the advert or her “good genes.”
And, in fact, essentially the most politically incorrect politician of our age is again within the White Home
It’s a really totally different cultural second, and a “Wizard of Oz” reimagining instantly feels so very 2022. Does that designate the shortage of updates?