Sam Raimi Commits to Directing OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
Director Sam Raimi has officially committed to direct Oz: The Great and Powerful for Disney. This will be the next film he goes into production on. Raimi became attached to the project back in June, there was a lot of talk about it, but at the time he still wasn't sure if he was going to take it on or not. This is the same Oz film that Robert Downey Jr. would play The Wizard in. The actor isn't locked in yet, but it's looking good.
Disney has also brought on a new screenwriter named David Lindsay-Abaire to re-write the script. He just adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole for Lionsgate who is hoping to grab and Oscar for it. Lindsay-Abaire's credits also include Robots and Inkheart. He also worked on the unproduced Spider-Man 4 film with Raimi.
Raimi is still attached to direct World of Warcraft, this OZ film will just go into development faster. I'm a big fan of the films that Raimi has made in his career, and it will be cool to see what he ends up doing with the project. I guess if anyone can put together a fun and frightening Wizard of Oz movie, it's Sam Raimi.
What do you think about Raimi taking on OZ The Great and Powerful?