With a July start date looming for
Oz: The Great and Powerful, expect casting to hit a higher gear over the coming weeks as so far only two names are confirmed for the mega Disney tentpole-
James Franco as The Wizard of Oz and
Mila Kunis as Theodora who becomes The Wicked Witch of the West. Though
Vulture are reporting that there's some friction between director
Sam Raimi and mega studio Disney who are at loggerheads over one piece of the casting jigsaw puzzle. The role is that of an elder witch. Disney say they want two time Oscar nominee
Michelle Williams to star but Raimi is insistent on two time Oscar winner
Hilary Swank for the part. Both quite frankly are surprising names for the project as neither have gravitated much towards blockbuster features and are both known for their dramatic, character studies. In terms of Swank, I guess we can understand Disney's doubts as the actress has had an awful time of things lately with flops
Amelia, Conviction and
The Resident (that one all but straight-to-DVD in the U.S.) whilst Williams is on the up and up with rave reviews for her last three films
Blue Valentine, Shutter Island and
Meek's Cutoff. Though we all know Raimi is a stickler for casting and over a decade ago he made sure he got
Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man when all Sony producers wanted
Wes Bentley, so it's not a battle he will lose lightly, if at all. Vulture also note that as well as the elder witch casting trouble causing him to have a headache this Easter weekend comes the news that
John C. Reilly who had been in talks for a supporting role in Oz, has instead decided to take a role in Lionsgate's
Hunger Games.