The cast is slowly coming together for Disney's Oz: the Great And Powerful. After a bit of an issue when Robert Downey Jr left the main role and Johnny Depp didn't want it, James Franco has since been installed in the title role, with Mila Kunis also signing on to play one the witches.
Now THR reports that Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz is in negotiations to play Evanorah, the Wicked Witch of the East in the Sam Raimi directed flick. She is the older sister of Kunis' character, Theodorah, and tries to lure Kunis to the dark side.
Names including Olivia Wilde, Amy Adams, Kate Beckinsale, Keira Knightley, Hillary Swank, Michelle Williams and Rebecca Hall have all been bandied about to play a witch, but as yet it isn't clear who will play the final magical madam, Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
THR says the plot sees 'James Franco as a fast-talking snake oil salesman and illusionist who flees a traveling circus and winds up whisked away in a hot air balloon by a tornado to Oz where he must face off against real magic and the sisters battling for control of the land. Theodora starts out as a good witch, alongside her beautiful sister Glinda, but after her sexual advances are jilted by Franco’s salesman, she’s convinced by Evanora to switch sides and help her older sister rule Oz.'
Filming should start this summer.