Mila Kunis and James Franco for Oz prequel?

There have been a lot of whispers about Sam Raimi’s upcoming prequel to The Wizard of Oz and who will actually be starring in it. Following the early departures of Robert Downey Jr. and then Johnny Depp, Raimi, who directed the last three Spiderman films, has remained fairly tight lipped about both the casting and the script. Sources have recently revealed that Mila Kunis is now set to take the lead female role, alongside a rumoured James Franco who shall play the Wizard. Oz, The Great and Powerful shall tell the early story of how the Wizard ended up in Oz, and with stars such as Franco and Kunis set to take the helm, I’m pretty sure it’ll be a very interesting take on the classic tale.

It may seem like a bit of a ploy to have these two attached to the film considering their last films, respectively, have garnered them both huge critical acclaim and plenty of award nominations. However, the two have starred alongside one-another before, briefly in Date Night, (where they proved they have buckets of chemistry), and in the online video skits for FunnyorDie. In another twist of coincidence, both stars were connected to the live-action remake of Akira (a 1980s manga epic), but Franco left during early talks and after hearing Kunis was up for the role of Theodorah, younger sister of Evanorah (who becomes The Wicked Witch of the East), Franco has reportedly become much more interested in cementing the deal with Raimi. Even though it is a bit of a jump to go from Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp to a younger actor like Franco, I’m certain Raimi, who worked with Franco in the Spiderman films, knows exactly what he’s doing…even if we don’t. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for official statements from their reps soon!