With all of the other news surrounding Disney, I had almost completely forgotten that we were getting a prequel to The Wizard of Oz early next year. Consider this poster a swift kick in the pants to remind everyone that we’ll all soon be following the yellow brick road once again.
Starring James Franco and directed by Sam Raimi, Oz The Great and Powerful is scheduled for March 8, 2013, and will reveal the origin of the titular wizard himself. A quick synopsis:
Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.
We were privy to a trailer some months ago, and it was a pretty awe-inspiring depiction of the great land of Oz. It’ll be interesting to see Raimi’s interpretation of Baum’s classic when it releases this coming spring.
[via The Film Stage]
