The very first teaser poster for Oz the Great and Powerful makes it abundantly clear that the new movie from director Sam Raimi is, in fact, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. it does so by including familiar elements from that cinema classic, such as the Yellow Brick Road, the Emerald City, and a huge tornado. Bonus: A colorful hot-air balloon with a teeny-tiny James Franco riding shotgun.
Actually, I guess all that stuff doesn't make it clear that the movie is a prequel, just that it does indeed take place
L. Frank Baum's fantasy world, the one where Dorothy found herself after another a big-ass tornado. Nonetheless,
Oz the Great and Powerful is indeed a prequel. It follows Franco, reteaming with his
Spider-Man director, as Oscar Diggs. Oscar's an unscrupulous penny-ante magician and conman who rather improbably ends up in Oz, the inhabitants of which think he's a long-anticipated wizard. Everyone, that is is, except for the witches Theodora, Glinda, and Evandora, played respectively by
Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, and
Rachel Weisz.
Anyway, here's the poster from Disney:
Disney's panel at San Diego Comic-Con next Thursday includes a panel for Oz the Great and Powerful, with the one and only Sam Raimi in attendance. This presentation is expected to include a first look at footage from the fantasy-adventure film and officially kick off the long marketing effort for the latest return to a familiar fairy tale world. Stick around next week for news on the panel.
In addition to Franco, Kunis, Williams, and Weisz, the cast includes Zach Braff, Abigail Spencer, Bill Cobbs, Martin Klebba, Tony Cox, and Ted Raimi, the director's brother who provided invaluable assistance to J.K. Simmons in the first three Spider-Man movies.
See what the director of The Evil Dead, Darkman, A Simple Plan, and Drag Me to Hell does with Oz when Oz the Great and Powerful hits theaters on March 8, 2013.
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