Confirmed: Sam Raimi to Direct Oz the Great and Powerful

In what is his first official project since being unceremoniously dumped from the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi has signed on to direct Oz: The Great and Powerful. Rumors over the last week had Raimi in negotiations, but nothing was confirmed until today. The story, written by Mitchell Kepner, is an origin story for the Wizard, imagining him as being another refugee from Kansas much like Dorothy. The film would chronicle his rise to power.

Robert Downey Jr. is still in talks for the lead role as the Wizard, but nothing is solid right now. How in the heck he can even fit it into his schedule with all of the Marvel work he's doing plus Sherlock Holmes is beyond me.

Personally I think this could be an interesting flick, although with the proposed Drew Barrymore Wizard of Oz project floating around out there I'm wondering if it might be overkill.

You can read more of Deadline's coverage of the story here.