Even though the 1939 version of Wizard of Oz is filled with bright colors and a happy ending, its theme tends to lean on the gloomy side. Now, New Line is in early development on a horror film staged in the world of L. Frank Baum‘s The Wonderful Wizard of OZ universe.

The studio, a division of Warner Bros., has bought an untitled pitch by screenwriter Mike Van Waes. The project isn’t set up with a producer yet.

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was published in 1900 and adapted into a successful musical in 1902. As with the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland, the story follows a girl named Dorothy in Kansas who lives on the prairie with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, and dog. A tornado carries Dorothy and Toto to a magical land to battle the Wicked Witch of the West.

(via Variety)

I wonder what dark and twisted worlds will be created out of the already perverse land of Oz!