- Lindsey Anderson Beer hopes to see her Wizard of Oz sequel script come to life, with a balance of darkness and whimsy.
- Previous adaptations in the land of Oz have generally been well-received, suggesting a potential success for Beer’s version.
- Beer is also working on a Sleepy Hollow reboot, delving deeper into the original story’s mythology and true ghost stories.
Writer and director of Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, Lindsey Anderson Beer, has expressed her desire to see a sequel to The Wizard of Oz that she wrote come to fruition. Beer, who recently directed the Stephen King prequel, has previously served as a writer for Sierra Burgess is a Loser, The Magic Order, and co-wrote Pet Sematary: Bloodlines alongside King and Jeff Buhler.
Beer has also written for several intellectual property-supported projects, including Transformers, Fast and Furious, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, and an upcoming Sleepy Hollow adaptation. In a recent conversation with Dread Central, while promoting Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, she discussed her hopes for her Wizard of Oz sequel script and how it strikes a balance between darkness and the whimsy of the original, which she thinks modern-day audiences may require.
The original Wizard of Oz, based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, premiered in 1939 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. Several films have revisited the magical land of Oz since then, such as Journey Back to Oz (1972), The Wiz (1978), Return to Oz (1985), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). Cinema audiences generally embraced all these iterations, signaling that Beer’s version may potentially be well-received if it is produced.
Furthermore, during the same interview, Beer discussed her upcoming Sleepy Hollow adaptation. While praising Tim Burton’s 1999 award-winning film starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci, she revealed that her project will be more heavily based on the original 1820 short story by Washington Irving, delving deeper into its mythology and true Hudson Valley ghost stories. Beer is also acting as a producer on the project, alongside Todd Garner and Spencer Walken of Broken Road Productions.
Currently available on Paramount+, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines is set in 1969 and follows young Jud Crandall (Jackson White) and his friends as they confront an ancient evil in their hometown of Ludlow. The film stars Forrest Goodluck, Jack Mulhern, Henry Thomas, Natalie Alyn Lind, Pam Grier, and David Duchovny.