Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz the Great and Powerful is an upcoming 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi.

The film is inspired by L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and is set before the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. The film stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, otherwise known as the Wizard of Oz. 


It also stars Mila Kunis as Theodora, Michelle Williams as Glinda, and Rachel Weisz as Evanora. The film is produced by Joe Roth and co-producers Grant Curtis and Joshua Donen and will be released by Walt Disney Pictures in traditional 2D, as well as in theDisney Digital 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D formats.

Raimi's film is set before the events of the 1939 film. Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune were his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, but into a better man as well.

In May 2011, before filming began, distributor Walt Disney Pictures gave it a March 8, 2013 North American theatrical release date.

The film had its world premiere at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood on February 14, 2013.