Disney is looking to return to Wonderland, with Alice in tow. The studio has hired Linda Woolverton, the writer of their 2010 Alice In Wonderland film directed by Tim Burton and starring Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, to start work on a sequel. The original earned over $1 billion at the box office, making it one of the bigger hits of the year.
Woolverton’s story will undoubtedly be something original as her screenplay for the 2010 film pillaged most of the major characters and concepts from author Lewis Carroll’s two “Wonderland” stories.
In these days where script development for sequels is more often than not starting before the original film is even in theaters, it seems odd that Disney has waited so long before pulling the trigger on a follow up. The twenty months since the first film’s release to now is a seeming eternity in comparison, especially with the film’s box office gross.
I have to say that I am not much of a fan of Burton’s adaptation of Carroll’s classic stories. I thought that trying to present a theme about forging one’s own destiny while having a lead character who ultimately conforms to the expectations of others was schizophrenic writing at its best. Hopefully Woolverton is able to deliver something a bit more cohesive this time around.
Via Variety.
