In 1998, following their TV-movie production of "Cinderella" (1997), producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron began pre-production on a TV-movie adaptation of "The Wiz" for "The Wonderful World of Disney", which was to star a then-unknown Anika Noni Rose as Dorothy. The project fell through due to Universal still having the film rights to adaptations of "The Wiz", and the production was shelved. "The O.Z.", a hip-hop re-adaptation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" with an all-Black cast that was to use original music rather than adapt "The Wiz", was then planned by FOX and director Chris Stokes in the early 2000s. With Brandy, Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, Busta Rhymes, and Little Richard among its planned cast, the telefilm ultimately went un-produced; FOX instead became a co-producer on "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz" (2005), starring Ashanti as Dorothy and Latifah as Aunt Em.