Sequel to Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' in the Works

Remember that surge of confusion and bizarre awe you felt upon watching Johnny Depp perform the futterwacken at the end of Tim Burton's Alice and Wonderland? Well, that same feeling is about to overtake you:  Hollywood.com has confirmed that Disney is currently developing a sequel to the film, which will again draw from both Lewis Carroll stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Linda Woolverton, who adapted Carroll's works for Burton the first time around, has a long history of well-received screenplays for family movies: she is responsible for The Lion King, and contributed to Beauty and the Beast and Mulan. Not a bad track record, though her first stab at Alice in Wonderland did leave a bad taste in the mouths of many critics and adoring fans of the source material (and its earlier cinematic incarnations). Still, it's no mystery why Disney would return to Burton's Wonderland world for a second go: the 2010 movie grossed over a billion dollars, cementing it firmly as one of the highest-earning films of all time. It presently stands at No. 12, right between Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and The Dark Knight.



No word yet on whether Burton will return to helm the picture, nor on what stars (Depp, Mia Wasikowska,Helena Bonham Carter among them) will take sequel roles. But there's no deficit of direction in which to take the movie. The first film's loose interpretation of various Carroll elements exhibits Disney's willingness to expand upon and invent new stories and adventures for the literary characters, meaning that just about anything can happen in Alice in Wonderland 2: Alice (Wasikowska) saves Underland from a rich oil tycoon who happens upon the mystical garden portal and wants to mine the magical land for its rich resources; the Mad Hatter (Depp) goes into the fashion business here in the real world, becoming a 7th Avenue smash with his line of headwear; the white rabbit's (Michael Sheen) frequent tardiness costs him his fiancee, and the rest of the gang band together to mend his broken heart. Anything is possible. Even more futterwacken.

[Photo Credit: Walt Disney Pictures]

Additional reporting by Matt Patches