James Franco to Play the Wizard of Oz in New Disney Film Co-Written by David Lindsay-Abaire

Oscar nominee James Franco will play the young wizard in Oz The Great and Powerful, a feature film from Walt Disney Pictures that began production on July 25, directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man). This prequel to the Oz story features a script co-written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Good People) and Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards).

The all-star cast of the film includes All New People playwright Zach Braff as Franco’s assistant, Mila Kunis as the witch Theodora, Rachel Weisz as Kunis’ sister Evanora and Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch. Oz The Great and Powerful is filming at the brand-new Raleigh Studios in Pontiac, Michigan, and will be released by Disney on March 8, 2013.

Oz The Great and Powerful imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot of fame and fortune, until he meets three witches (played by Kunis, Weisz and Williams) who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late.

In addition to playing the wizard’s circus assistant, Braff will lend his vocal talents to one of the CGI creatures in the story, Finley, the winged monkey who accompanies the magician on his journey to Oz. Twelve-year-old actress Joey King will voice another CGI character in the story, China Girl, who also joins the future wizard on his excursion through Oz.

Raimi’s creative team includes Oscar-winning makeup artist Howard Berger (The Chronicles of Narnia), who will create the looks of creatures such as the Whimsies, the Tinkers and the Winkies, as well as the ghastly look of the Wicked Witch of the West.