After Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp both passed on the role, James Franco has just finalized a deal to star as the title character in Oz The Great and Powerful, director Sam Raimi’s Disney 3D prequel to the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
In the movie, Franco will portray “a young illusionist with a grandiose attitude who is forced to flee a traveling circus. His hot air balloon is swept up by a tornado to the land of Oz, which is run by two magical wicked witches.”
Oz the Great and the Powerful, which will also star Mila Kunis, is scheduled to start shooting in July and was expected to be shot at Raleigh Michigan Studios in Pontiac, MI, but with the current state of Michigan’s tax incentives, that remains to be seen.
Before shooting Oz, Franco will star in the Noah Baumbach-directed While We’re Young, and after Oz, he’ll hit the great white way in Sweet Bird of Youth.
[Source: SlashFilm]
