Sam Raimi has struck a deal with Walt Disney Studios to direct their future 3D tentpole
The Great and Powerful Oz (or
Oz: The Great and Powerful) according to
Nikki Finke. We reported that
Raimi had been offered the much sought-after gig on Saturday morning and it seems a deal for the
Wizard of Oz prequel was quickly thrashed out yesterday. Raimi will now meet with
Robert Downey Jr. to discuss the movie's direction and his title role of the fast-talking circus huckster brought to Oz by the same means as Dorothy, a tornado. Downey Jr is still attached as of right now but with Disney wanting to film the movie this year (seeing it as the next
Alice in Wonderland basically), he would have to drop
Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity this summer because he will be making
Sherlock Holmes 2 in the fall and we won't be able to get out of that kind of WB deal, even if he wanted to. We can't see Disney waiting until Downey Jr is finished with
The Avengers in mid 2011 before the
Oz movie can be filmed. More likely is that they will offer him such a big paycheck that he simply can't refuse the movie. Raimi then, takes the
Oz reigns where the likes of
Sam Mendes (who was the front-runner, then turned it down),
Guillermo del Toro, Baz Luhrmann (said thanks but no thanks) and
Adam Shankman, Timur Bekmambetov (those I believe were rejected by Disney) failed. We kinda wished he had made more of an effort to speak to Peter Jackson and
become the new director on The Hobbit over this, but I honestly think Raimi's feelings were hurt by such a public rejection of his services a few years ago when Raimi literally begged Jackson for the job, before ultimately deciding del Toro was his man.
We can pretty much already picture the entire film; Oz believes that the circus man is a wizard, and through Music Man conning abilities, he finds himself in a position of powerless power as the wizard behind the curtain. Although I can certainly see the potential Raimi might bring to the project, I am more concerned with the adverse effect it will ultimately have on his career. Simply put, Im afraid he may be going the route of
Tim Burton. Burton began with a number of bizarre and dark films, both morbid and stylistically unique. Though much of his style has remained, most of his unique touches now goes towards watered down remakes and revivals of past franchises. From
Planet of the Apes to
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton has made this a staple of his career. More than anything, we are afraid that an
Oz prequel will tun out the same way as this year's
Alice in Wonderland.
Raimi began even darker than Burton; a pioneer in independent horror films with the creation of the
Evil Dead series. Although most may now know Raimi as the director of the
Spider-Man films, he even had a superhero type film which preceded these successful films.
Darkman (1990) was a violent and dark film; kind of like what
Evil Dead would be to
Drag Me to Hell. There is no missing Raimis gradual shift toward studio-safe films, and it actually makes sense for him to get in bed with Disney next. This seems to be the last act of a director selling out completely. I am also concerned for the impact that this would have on Downeys career; one which seems to coincide coincidentally with longtime Burton collaborator, Johnny Depp. Depp made his comeback with
Pirates of the Caribbean, a film which was greatly enhanced by his unique approach.
Iron Man served a similar duty for Downey, though I would hate to see him throw away his success with countless big-budget big-concept disasters. Even without hearing any more details, I feel like I can imagine that is the direction a
Wizard of Oz would go in and it terrifies me.