Oz: The Great and Powerful is an interesting project. Directed by Sam Raimi, it’s intended to be a prequel to the classic 1939 film, and though we won’t see it until next year, we’ve just been treated to some rather lovely stills, which you can see here after the jump.
What’s also interesting is the budget, which is rumoured to be in the region of $200m. The last time Disney backed a relatively unknown prospect with a budget in that ballpark, it was John Carter, a film that flopped both critically and commercially. With John Carter, the filmmakers decided against filling the cast and crew with stars, something which won’t be a problem for this production. Directed by Raimi, who obviously brought tremendous blockbuster success to the Spider-man film franchise (currently in cinemas in rebooted format), it stars James Franco in the lead role of Oz, while Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams will play a trio of witches – a pretty formidable line up.
Whether or not this can recapture the same magic as the 1939 musical, or whether it will try to, remains to be seen. It has a solid cast and crew and a lavish budget, and Disney will be hoping it can bounce back from John Carter’s failure. The first trailer, fresh out of Comic Con, is also available below.
