While he was making Scrubs, Zach Braff’s film choices were decidedly outside the mainstream (except for voicing the title character in Chicken Little), but without J.D. to fall back on, he’s now taking a role in a big tentpole flick that should help keep his profile up – even if only so he still has enough clout to do the smaller projects he seems enamoured with.
Deadline reports he’s signing on for Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great And Powerful, playing ‘Frank, the loyal but under-appreciated assistant to Oz (James Franco), a charismatic circus magician who is treated as a powerful wizard after his balloon blows off course into Oz and the townsfolk want him to eradicate a Wicked Witch and bring peace.’ Although not 100% clear, that does sound like Frank ends up in Oz with Franco, rather than being a resident there.
Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Mila Kunis are signed up to play the good, bad and somewhere in the middle witches, with the movie scheduled to start shooting this July, for release March 2013.