Return to 'Oz' Assured Thanks to 'Alice in Wonderland' Success

It was inevitable, wasn't it? After Disney's Alice in Wonderland pulled in over $210 million worldwide this weekend, there were bound to be more studios lining up to cash in on the fantasy movie remake/reboot/reimagining territory, and Warner Bros.,The LA Times says, are the first, looking into not one, but two very different Wizard of Oz projects.

The first has a script written by Darren Lemke, who also wrote the upcoming Shrek Forever After, and will be produced by Temple Hill, who are behind the Twilight series of films. This would likely be closer to the original in tone or, at the very least, in family-friendliness.

The second would be a bit darker. How dark? Spawn creator Todd McFarlane is reportedly attached to produce, and his company's toyline of twisted takes on characters from the book series features Dorothy in bondage gear and half-naked munchkins. So, less like The Wizard of Oz and more like the TV show Oz.

The script, which features Dorothy's granddaughter fighting the forces of evil in Oz, was written by Josh Olson, who also penned the film adaptation of the graphic novel A History of Violence. Basil Iwanyk, producer of Clash of the Titans, and his Thunder Road Pictures are producing this project.

Warner Bros. is apparently hoping that one of these films will lead to a franchise to replace the gap left by the Harry Potter films. They will also likely help do for 3D what the Judy Garland-starring film did for Technicolor. With Universal also producing a film adaptation of Wicked, it looks like we'll have an overflow of Oz upon us!

There hasn't been any word on whether either of the new films would be musicals, but McFarlane's would feature some interesting death metal takes on the classics.