Raimi and Downey Jr. Will Travel to Oz

Word over the last few days was that Sam Raimi was in negotiations to direct the Wizard of Oz prequel for Disney.  Now Deadline has confirmed that a deal was finalized to make Oz: the Great and Powerful Sam Raimi’s next stint in the director chair since he removed himself from the Spider-Man franchise in January.

After the great success Disney had with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the studio is hoping that Raimi can work the same type of magic with the Wizard of Oz prequel. The film will  star Robert Downey Jr. as a circus wrangler who, thanks to a tornado, gets whisked away to the land of Oz where he gets mistaken for a know it all. [READ THE REST HERE]