Oz the Great and Powerful Trailer: James Franco New Project Debuts at Comic Con

While everyone is geeking out over the upcoming release of The Dark Knight Rises on July 20, there’s another film that’s gaining attention. The highly anticipated Disney film Oz The Great and Powerful, debuted its trailer on Thursday at Comic-Con.

The film is based off the beloved children’s classic, The Wizard of Oz, by Frank L. Baum and is a prequel to the Technicolor masterpiece of the same name. It centers on the story of Oscar Diggs, a small-time magician laments his average life in Kansas and desires something more. In a twister,  he is blown to the magical land of OZ where he encounters three witches, Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda and becomes embroiled in the problems facing the inhabitants of the land all while trying to figure out which of his new friends are actually good or evil.  

The all-star cast is led by James Franco as the wannabe “Great Oz”, Michelle Williams as Glinda the Good Witch, Rachel Weisz as Evanora, and Mila Kunis as Theodora, the Wicked Witch of the West. The talented Sam Raimi, most known for his the director of all the films in the Spiderman trilogy, is at the helm of this project. With all of these gifted people involved and the financial backing of mega-conglomerate, Disney, expectations for the film are high. 

Now that the trailer has officially been released, the buzz surrounding the film has been mostly positive, yet there are reservations about how the film will fare when compared to its predecessor The Wizard of Oz. However, this film hopes to distinguish itself with its dark overtones, potential love triangle and use of new technology to create an even more vivid wonderland. The film is set to be released in March, 2013, so we’ll have to wait until then to see if it’s worth taking another trip down the yellow brick road.