Days after reportedly meeting
Guillermo del Toro for The Great and Powerful Oz, Disney are now said to
have offered the directing gig on their massive 3D tentpole to
Sam Raimi. The Mouse are desperate to get the
Wizard of Oz prequel/re-imagining before camera's this year, seeing the project as their next
Alice in Wonderland mass audience pleaser, especially with the bankable
Robert Downey Jr attached as the title character. They are aggressively searching for a helmer for the project, and aren't particularly being precious on who they choose. Raimi
is probably available after the
Spider-Man debacle, and the fact that Warner Bros'
World of Warcraft trilogy is probably a couple of years away from filming. He certainly has nothing right now that will film next year, so it's an offer he will probably consider, then we think, will ultimately politely decline. From the dozen or so filmmakers the project has been offered to in recent weeks, including auteurs like Sam Mendes and Guillermo Del Toro - presumably there's little room here for creative imagination and personal vision. Disney are seemingly desperate for just about anyone with a commercial minded background to adapt what they see as a sure-fire hit. Disney want someone to follow instructions, make Robert Downey look good, make the world look something magical and if they happen to deliver a visual delight, well it's a bonus. Hell, even Downey Jr isn't a given as with
Gravity and
Sherlock Holmes 2 - he is unlikely to be available to film this anyway until next year but Disney have made it known, they want to see the profits from this endeavour now!
Raimi, who has had enough of being told what to do (
Spider-Man 3) and is now of the mindset to make the kind of movies that fuel his inventive juices (
Drag Me To Hell), surely is too smart to sign up for this. It would be a sell-out move, would make him a gargantuan amount of money and would elevate him to the kind of status
Tim Burton has in the industry but I think at this stage in Raimi's career - he's more interested in telling the stories he wants to tell. Speaking of Burton though... why haven't Disney tried to poach him? If they truly want another
Alice in Wonderland, then why not seek him out? Other directors who have met Disney for the project include
Adam Shankman (
Hairspray) and
Timur Bekmambetov (
Wanted).