Fans wondering how director Sam Raimi would tackle the classic story from L. Frank Baum can now check out the first look of ‘Oz: The Great and Powerful’ with James Franco and Mila Kunis. The cast and crew just appeared at Comic Con where they discussed the dark fairytale’s premise and how they felt about the direction of the film that also stars Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Joey King and Abigail Spencer. During the panel Kunis shared that she first read ‘The Wizard of Oz’ as a child in Russia where she grew up. “I do think it captures the magic of the original. But it’s completely different. In my opinion, a little bit darker, a little more grounded. There is no singing, there is no dancing.”
Meanwhile, Franco noted that fans of the movie will get to see more of the man behind the curtain than before in Raimi’s upcoming adaption. “In the original L. Frank Baum books, there are many witches and creatures, many more than were in the original [Wizard of Oz].” He adds, “This Oz is a little different. You get to see a lot more of who this Oz is.. The search for [his heart] is one of the main themes of this movie.” The 2013 release, a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz that tells how the Wizard arrived in Oz became the ruler, will hit theaters on March 8th. Watch the movie trailer below.
