‘Emerald City’ Season 1, Episode 1 Spoilers: "The Beast Forever" – Dorothy Swept into “Otherwordly” Realm; Vincent D’Onofrio Talks his Version of the Wizard

‘Emerald City’ season 1, episode 1, titled "The Beast Forever," is set to introduce Dorothy as she is swept into an “otherworldly” realm in a tornado. Meanwhile, Vincent D’Onofrio revealed his version of the wizard as someone totally different from the original.

The synopsis for “The Beast Forever” posted on TV Guide reads, “A tornado occurs while Dorothy searches for her mother, and the storm transports Dorothy to a mystical land where a powerful ruler has outlawed magic in the series premiere of this dark, modern reimagining of "The Wizard of Oz."

In the series premiere of the fantasy-drama television series based on the ‘Land of Oz’ book series authored by L. Frank Baum, the main protagonist Dorothy Gale is swept up in tornado while looking for her mother in Kansas. She then finds herself in a world unlike no other where the ruler of a kingdom faces the wrath of witches and magic.

One of the sneak previews posted on Spoilers Guide features a scene where Vincent D’Onofrio’s Wizard is examining footage of something falling from the sky through the tornado. He asks one of his attendants, “Do we know what it is?” to which she replies, “Not yet. But it tore the sky and that is the first true sign… now the beast forever will rise.”

The Wizard then tells one his men to go East and find out what exactly fell from the sky. He then instructs, “If it’s alive, kill it. If it’s dead, bury it. Whatever it is, it doesn’t come back here. It doesn’t come back to Emerald City.”

During an interview with Collider, D’Onofrio talked about the series as well as his character. When asked about the difference between the retelling and the original story, he revealed, “There is this world that we’ve created, and it is an otherworldly thing. As far as a standard definition, it is otherworldly. You are taken through our story through the point of view of Dorothy. When she comes in, she comes into this world that’s full of sociology with these factions that are trying to rule – the far left and the far right, magic and science.”

When asked about his version of the wizard, he said, “My Wizard is so complicated with his psychology. He’s a guy that suffers from worthlessness. He’s got major human issues. It’s nothing like the iconic thing I watched, every year with my family.”

‘Emerald City’ season 1, episode 1, titled "The Beast Forever," is scheduled to air on January 6, 2017 on NBC. It will be followed by episode 2, titled "Prison of the Abject," also scheduled on the same day. Both episodes were directed by Tarsem Singh, best known for his work on feature films such as ‘The Cell’ with Jennifer Lopez and ‘Mirror Mirror’ starring Julia Roberts.