Sam Raimi’s attachment string’s been upgraded to an iron chain of commitment. While his name’s been associated with Disney's “Oz biopic” Disney (subtitled “The Great and Powerful”) for a while, Deadline’s saying that he’s locked in, now, and the studio’s expecting production to start in 2011. So this means that, in the dance of Raimi courtship, the amazing Spider-Man and all the brawny legions of World of Warcraft lost out to a big phony who likes to hide behind a curtain and freak out young girls. Only in America!
The other piece of the puzzle is Robert Downey Jr., who’s been associated with this for about as long as Raimi, but has still yet to commit to playing the title character. It’s looking inevitable, though - - he's reportedly liking how David Lindsay-Abair (the writer Robots & Inkheart) is shaping the material.
This is being put together following Alice in Wonderland's absurd success. While I didn't bother to see that "3D extravaganza," I'm interest in this one since it isn't a remake, per se. There are actually 20 or so Oz books beyond what most people are aware of and I figure this prequel's going to explore more of the world revealed in those. It also gets +500 points and double kudos for not being a "dark" reinterpretation of Oz, which has actually become a pretty big cliche that nobody seems to notice.
though i want him to do something in another comic book movie. i think he was great with spiderman, but after that he was having some trouble (drag me to hell was kinda bad)