Michelle Williams Joins 'Oz, the Great and Powerful' Cast

And so it has come to this.

After "Dawson's Creek" launched her career, Michelle Williams played it pretty classy, starring almost exclusively in films guided by a strong directorial voice. Her biggest film to date in terms of budget and cultural presence was a Martin Scorsese film ("Shutter Island"). She starred in "Wendy and Lucy," "Synecdoche, New York," "Blue Valentine," and "Meek's Cutoff."

Now she's a witch in a Disney film.

I'm not categorically against blockbusters (many of my best friends are blockbusters!) but I do find it a little bit sad when someone as talented and bold as Williams is eventually thrust into the all-powerful brand-driven nostalgia machine.

Nevertheless, as reported in Variety, Williams will play Glinda, the good witch, who...*sigh*...teams up with a "snake-oil salesman" played by James Franco who will eventually become the Wizard of Oz. Although his name is also somehow Oz.

Something tells me that, even though this is a prequel to a 72-year-old film, Disney will force the characters to explain this whole unnecessary backstory about how the land of Oz was created, or...something.

You know, if "Alice in Wonderland" and "Tron: Legacy" were any indication. And if this is an extension of the 1939 film - I mean, I'm just guessing that maybe they'll be counting on audience familiarity with that - does anyone in the production remember how the entire land of Oz was a dream?

On the plus side, Williams will play Marilyn Monroe in the upcoming "My Week with Marilyn," and stars in the latest Sarah Polley film, "Take This Waltz," so hopefully this is just a sidestep in the continuation of one of the most creatively satisfying careers an actress can have.