Drew Barrymore directing Oz tale

(AF/ GABRIEL BOUYS)

After last year's directorial debut with Whip It, starring Ellen Page, actress Drew Barrymore will return to direct a sequel to the Wizard of Oz tale called Surrender Dorothy.

The script by Zach Helm ( Stranger Than Fiction) follows Dorothy's great-great-granddaughter who learns to use the power of the ruby slippers to protect Oz and save the world from the Wicked Witch, according to Empire Online.

Barrymore was previously going to star in the film and now plans to direct it through her company Flower Films with Warner Bros.

Among other re-imaginings of the Wizard of Oz story currently in the works, including a film version of the Broadway musical Wicked, is Oz the Great and Powerful with Robert Downey Jr. playing the Wizard.

RC