Hollywood can’t seem to get enough of L. Frank Baum’s Land of Oz books. Variety brings word that Legendary Television has secured the rights to develop a TV series set in the universe made popular by Baum’s stories and, later, by MGM’s The Wizard of Oz in 1939. The project doesn’t have an official title yet. However, the studio has tapped Ed Ricourt to write the new series. Ricourt will also produce alongside dj2 Entertainment’s Dmitri M. Johnson and Stephan Bugaj.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Legendary TV and dj2 to adapt my take on Baum’s rich, complex OZ book series which has influenced me creatively since childhood,” said Ricourt in a statement.
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Ricourt made his industry debut when he co-wrote the screenplay for 2013’s Now You See Me, but he didn’t return for the film’s 2016 sequel. He also penned a 2015 episode of the recently canceled Jessica Jones and served as a consulting producer throughout the show’s inaugural season. Ricourt’s other credits include Fox’s Wayward Pines and the upcoming Netflix superhero series, Raising Dion.
Baum published the first Oz story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in 1900. He followed it up with thirteen sequels, all of which were illustrated by artist John R. Neill. The last two books in the series were published after Baum’s death in 1919. The series has spawned countless film and television adaptations over the last 100 years. Most recently, NBC attempted to tell a modern version of the classic story with Emerald City, which aired for a lone 10-episode season in 2017.
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