Erik Jendresen ("Band of Brothers") will pen the script for the eight-hour miniseries, according to Variety.

Producers are ABC Studios and Ventanarosa Productions, which is run by Hayek and her production partner Jose Tamez.

Whether Hayek will also appear in the miniseries, which will be based on the Maguire novel rather than the Stephen Schwartz-Winnie Holzman musical, has yet to be announced.

Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" was released in 1995; the sequel, entitled "Son of a Witch," arrived in 2005.

"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" is described in press notes as such: "When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

"Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. 'Wicked' is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil."