'Oz: The Great and Powerful' Gets a Sequel
by Shannon KeirnanFans of “Oz: The Great and Powerful” can rejoice. Even though the prequel to “The Wizard of Oz” just hit theaters this week, a sequel has already been in the works for a few months.
Good thing that “Oz” did well at the box office—it raked in over $80 million for its opening weekend.
While there are no plot details out yet, the sequel will be penned by Mitchell Kapner, who co-wrote “Oz: The Great and Powerful” and is probably best known for writing “The Whole Nine Yards.”
Kapner’s options will be somewhat limited. While Kapner can use L. Frank Baum’s public-domain novel as guidance, any additions from the original—notably, the ruby slippers that Dorothy wore in the 1939 film—are off limits. Don’t worry though, slippers may still appear—they were just silver in the novels.
There are fourteen “Oz” novels for Kapner to explore, so he should be able to dig out plenty of great material.
“‘We’re all signed on for sequels,” “Oz” star Mila Kunis has already said. Meanwhile Rachel Weisz, who also appears as one of the witches in the film has said “If there’s a sequel, I’d love to be in it.”
Within the film, James Franco plays Oscar Diggs, a hapless magician who accidentally lands in a beautiful (and really magical) world, where he encounters witches Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz), and Glinda the good witch (Michelle Williams). He gets wrapped in the concerns of the land, and must discover which of the beauties is the bad witch… before it’s too late.