This year, fans of The Wizard of Oz will be seeing a different perspective on the classic story by L. Frank Baum in Wicked: For Good, but the musical adaptation is not the only bold and new take on the story of witches, tornadoes, and a young girl called Dorothy. In 2026, Elijah J. Alvarez and his Buddy Pictures production company will present Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz, a genre-bending take on the story that has been loved by children of all ages for more than a century.
Following the likes of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, several Popeye movies, and now a Betty Boop slasher, Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz is another movie that takes a well-known public domain work aimed at young audiences and turns it into a gore-filled, twisted nightmare that is definitely not for the kids. However, as Alvarez told MovieWeb, this is not just another cash-grab on a beloved public domain novel.
“Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz separates itself from the recent public domain horror because of its filled with characters that shine a light on the realities of being a Gen Z student athlete and the real-life horrors young student athletes face in this time. It has its gore elements horror fans love but these characters offer depth to the public domain horror genre that is lacking. The way Get Out and Sinners relied on the importance of having real characters for the narrative and the way they utilized the horror genre to push it forward is exactly what this film does. This film is genre bending and consists of sci fi, thriller, comedy, coming of age, romance and horror in a way most public domain films don’t.
Why ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Was the Perfect Choice for Alvarez
While there are several public domain horrors being released in the coming months and years, mostly attached to the “Poohniverse” franchise that began with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, Alvarez believes that Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz delivers something new to the game, and The Wizard of Oz was the perfect base for the story he wanted to tell.
“I chose the Wizard of Oz characters as a metaphor for the inner demons these real-life Gen Z college student athletes face when they get injured in the sport they’ve loved there whole life. The classic Wizard of Oz book is full of eerie horrifying moments that I think is compelling and that we built on to incorporate into our film. This is the first film my production company Buddy Pictures is releasing in our slate of films and I’m incredibly excited to show audiences that deserve quality entertainment and real representation.”
As per the synopsis, the movie will see a group of Gen Z college basketball players being caught in a nightmare on Halloween night, when they find themselves being stalked by terrifying manifestations of characters from The Wizard of Oz. As the lines between real traumas and alternate dimensions blur, the movie dives deep into a sci-fi psychological thriller, encompassing cycles of vengeance, the importance of self-identity, falsified worlds and the power of myth. The Purge, Sinners and Get Out are huge inspirations for this coming-of-age basketball, slasher, sci-fi horror genre-bending film. Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz is expected to be released in 2026, Starring Michael Sullivan, Logan Laurel, Heidi Appe, Melissa Foster, Aaron Byrd, Rocky Velasco, Angela Michaela, Yvonne Orozco, and Ava Barone, among others.
