James Franco Is Latest Contender For OZ Role
First Robert Downey, Jr….now James Franco? Heat Vision reports that Hollywood’s newest A-lister, hot off his Oscar-nominated turn in the film 127 Hours, is the latest name that has been thrown into the mix for the starring role in OZ: THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. The Disney prequel, a take on the classic Wizard of Oz tale, is set to be directed by Sam Raimi. Although there is no start or release date for the film, it’s a high profile project for Disney and sources say that production could start as early as the second half of the year.
Since the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.’s passing on the role a few weeks ago, numerous actors have been rumored to be in consideration for the project. The latest contender, Johnny Depp, fell out recently after several discussions. While a deal with Franco is far from being ironed out, if the casting comes through, it would reunite the actor with Raimi for the first time since their collaboration on the Spider-Man films a few years ago.
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