At this rate, half the films made in the next couple of years will be set in Oz, but that’s the problem with works in the publlic domain – there’s nothing to stop anyone doing what they want with them. With Universal working on Wicked, Warner developing two separate Oz based projects and several others in the works, there’s never been more interest in L. Frank Baum’s creation.
It’s Disney however that’s pushing hardest though, with Robert Downey Jr. already attached to Oz, The Great And Powerful, which will follow the wizard from being a normal human on Earth working for a travelling circus, to becoming the man behind the curtain in Oz, who everyone believes is a great and powerful wizard. Until recently it looked like Sam Mendes would direct, but he’s stepped aside to make the smaller On Chesil Beach, and while Adam Shankman lobbied for the role, it doesn’t seem that Disney took him very seriously.
Now Vulture reports that Sam Raimi has been offered the directors chair for the film. While Raimi is attached to direct a World Of Warcarft movie, that still seems to be quite a way off (the idea was originally to develop Warcraft while he made Spider-man 4 and it’d hopefully be ready by the time that film was in the cinema), meaning he may well be free for Oz. Apparently at this stage an offer has gone out to the director, but there’s no word on whether he’ll accept. I expect many would like to see a Raimi Oz film, so let’s hope he says yes.
In other Oz news, Summertime Entertainment is making a CG animated 3D musical, called Dorothy of Oz, and Variety reports they’ve snagged Glee star Lea Michele (who plays Rachel in the hit TV show) to voice the title role and the sing some of the new songs that have been written for the film. The movie is a sequel to the original tale, with Dorothy back in Kansas and then having to return to Oz to help her friends. Other voices include John Belushi as the Lion, Dan Aykroyd as the Scarecrow and Kelsey Grammer as the Tin Man, while Oliver Platt, Megan Hilty, Hugh Dancy and Martin Short will also be involved. And I’m sure everyone will be delighted to hear that the songs are being written by none other than Bryan Adam (well, okay, no one’s going to be delighted to hear that, but it’s true nonetheless).