Oz: The Great and Powerful – Next Up for Raimi

Sam Raimi has made a commitment to Disney that Oz: The Great And Powerful will be his next directing assignment. The film is planned to be an extravagant 3D family fest, which Disney bosses are hoping will generate the type of big numbers that the Tim Burton-directed Alice in Wonderland did. Alice crossed the billion-dollar mark earlier this year.

Raimi became attached to the film in June with hopes of getting Robert Downey Jr. to star. After Raimi dropped out of the 4th installment of the Spider-Man franchise, there was uncertainty of what project he would take on next. Initially, Raimi was pretty set on directing Legendary Picture’s property World of Warcraft , but it appears that will be put on the back burner for the time being. And Downey has not yet committed to the Disney project, but signs are looking promising.

According to Deadline New York, Disney expects Raimi to start production next year, and the studio has hired David Lindsay-Abaire for the rewrite. Lindsay-Abaire recently adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Rabbit Hole into a drama starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart for Lionsgate.

But what’s most significant about the playwright’s involvement with Oz is that he was one of the screenwriters who worked closely with Raimi on the Spider-Man 4 movie before the director left the film. So the two already have had a creative working relationship, and this should help things run a little more smoothly while making the film.

Lindsay-Abaire’s other screenwriting credits include Inkheart and Robots. He also garnered several Tony Award nominations for his Rabbit Hole play. So it looks like things are finally starting to fall into place for the Oz film to move forward.