Disney greenlights ‘Oz’ sequel

Disney has commissioned a follow-up film to Sam Raimi’s new movie Oz the Great and Powerful – which has taken in $80.3-million in the US since opening on Friday (8 March).

> Read our review of Oz: The Great and Powerful here.

The film – which stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz and is a prequel to the original 1939 flick The Wizard of Oz – had not even been released before Variety revealed that Disney had tapped Oz the Great and Powerful screenwriter Mitchell Kapner to start penning a sequel.

Although no details have been confirmed for the sequel, it is thought that Kapner will return to author L. Frank Baum’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for inspiration.

However, he will be unable to use any of the iconic items from the original film, such as Dorothy’s ruby slippers, as company Warner Bros. own the rights to the original 1939 feature – even though Baum’s story is in the public domain.

Kunis – who plays the witch Theodora in the film – has admitted that the main cast is signed on for sequels. However, Raimi is unlikely to return to direct a second film in the planned franchise.

In an interview with Coming Soon, Raimi said that he hasn’t "planned" on directing the sequel.

"I did leave some loose ends for another director if they want to make the picture," he said. "I was attracted to this story but I don’t think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested."

Raimi has previously revealed that he was "intimated" by the script for Oz The Great and Powerful because he was scared of how fans would react.

"I was actually very frightened to approach the project because there’s so much love for the original Wizard of Oz and people don’t want their warm feelings towards this great classic … they don’t want someone stepping in their fondest memories of their childhood," he said.

Get more from iafrica.com:

Review: ‘Oz: The Great and Powerful’
Bieber lashes out at paparazzi
‘Star Wars’ trio to return