Hollywood Flashback: ‘Return to Oz’ Had Trouble Going Home Again

The musical spectacle “Wicked” whisks viewers into the magical realm of “The Wizard of Oz,” as Universal’s film adaptation, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, premieres in cinemas on November 22. Unlike the 1985 release “Return to Oz,” this production has had a more straightforward journey. Following his Oscar win for sound editing in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” editor and sound designer Walter Murch was invited by Disney to discuss potential directorial projects. Intrigued by an Oz tale, Murch expressed interest, catching the studio’s attention since it held rights to L. Frank Baum’s later books, “The Land of Oz” and “Ozma of Oz,” upon which “Return to Oz” was based.