Oz The Great and Powerful Sequel In The Works

With plans afoot  to see Oz The Great and Powerful real soon--there's word tonight that a sequel is already in the works.

 

Disney has already hired screenwriter Mitchell Kapner to start working on the sequel script. Kapner was one of the original writers on the new movie, sharing a writing credit with David Lindsay-Abaire, and was actually tapped by the studio a few months to start working on a follow-up. The screenwriter's previous credits include The Whole Nine Yards, the story of Romeo Must Die, and the direct-to-video Into the Blue 2: The Reef.

Sam Raimi's The Wizard of Oz prequel has The Wizard (James Franco) as a “snake-oil salesman” who enters the Technicolor world of Oz after escaping the vengeful husband of his latest sexual conquest. Once in Oz, he lies to the natives, claiming to be a wizard. This deceitful Casanova soon falls for Glinda the Good Witch (Michelle Williams), and spurns Theodora (Mila Kunis) prompting her to becomes a bad witch and team up with the downright evil Evanora (Rachel Weisz) to destroy Oz.

Zach Braff will play the role of Frank, the loyal but under-appreciated assistant to Oz. Abigail Spencer will play a young woman who is a willing subject of Oz’s magic tricks while Joey King will play China Girl in the pic.

No story details have been released for the sequel, but there are a few things that the writer legally cannot include in the story by author L. Frank Baum. The novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is in the public domain, which means the Kapner can use anything contained in that book. However, he cannot use any of the additions used in the Warner Bros. 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, such as Dorothy's ruby slippers.