Robert Downey Jr. is out of the Sam Raimi-directed Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz: The Great & Powerful, and talks of Johnny Depp have since subsided because of his commitment to Tim Burton’s Dark Shadow. It seems that this year’s Oscar nominee for 127 Hours and the ceremony’s co-host, James Franco, is next in line. The film would reunite Franco with his Spiderman director. Hit the jump for more details on this unexpected choice!
Heat Vision offers more information on the process of elimination that has brought Franco into the mix, saying this: “The Oz role has been a hot one since Robert Downey Jr. fell out two and a half weeks ago. Johnny Depp was then in discussions for the role but after several meetings ultimately passed… Franco may be, at first blush, an odd choice to topline the tale of 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. Sources caution that no deal making has begun and many issues would need to be ironed out, but if the stars align, Franco would be back working with Raimi for the first time since they collaborated on Sony’s Spiderman movies. At this stage, Franco hasn’t met with Raimi to discuss the project.”
The Huffington Post refers to aCinemablend article in “that the film would show the Wizard as a conman who falls in love with Glinda, the Good Witch, leading the two to plot against her evil two sisters.”
Next Movie favors Franco over the other names that have been attached to the project, remarking, “Just image the good-natured stone of ‘Pineapple Express’ becoming the ruler of a magical far-away land, one filled with talking scarecrows, Munchkins and flying monkeys- it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
While the young actor is playing the Hollywood game by his own rules, he has been making headlines since heading to General Hospital as a regular, making a cameo in The Green Hornet as a drug lord, beginning production on his adaptation of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, directing himself in Night Stalker, getting ready to star alongside Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole) on Broadway in Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth, and teaching a class at Columbia called ‘Editing James Franco.. With James Franco,’ where “the student editors will seek to create a cinematic image of James Franco through the footage,” according to The Huffington Post. We’ll see what happens next!
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