Sam Raimi directing OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, starring Robert Downey Jr.

Sam Raimi directing OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, starring Robert Downey Jr.

Jun 16

Where do you go searching for your next project after being axed from the mega-bucks Spider-Man franchise you helped create? Why, you simply follow the yellow brick road.

Deadline reports that Sam Raimi has officially signed to direct the project Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz detailing how the man who becomes Wizard wound up in the land of Oz in the first place (also via rogue tornado– hopefully complete with flying old ladies still-cycling mid-air).

Man-of-the-moment Robert Downey Jr. is attached to star as the circus wrangler character who inadvertently becomes Wizard, though it’s not certain if he will remain attached at this stage.

Things we can be thankful for:

• At least it’s a prequel and not a flat-out remake of The Wizard of Oz
• Robert Downey Jr. as the Wizard. I mean, why not?
• Sam Raimi’s slapstick, comic-book, Three Stooges-style of filmmaking should be right at home with this kind of project.
• It’s not being made by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and/or Helena Bonham Carter (God, just imagine).

The screenplay has been kicked around for a while, and at one stage Sam Mendes was attached to direct. It’s only now that my interest is perked, however. Sam Raimi in the chair and Robert Downy Jr. on the screen in a prequel to The Wizard of Oz is undeniably intriguing.