Well, that didn’t take too long: Mila Kunis has decided to hop on her broomstick and fly off to the magical land of Oz, officially signing on to join the cast of Oz, the Great and Powerful for director Sam Raimi.
Assuming he can stay off the Twitters for three bloomin’ minutes, James Franco has the starring role as a charming con man and illusionist who high-tails it from a travelling circus when his latest romantic conquest lands him in hot water. Attempting to flee in a hot air balloon, he’s whisked away by a tornado to Oz, where he discovers that magic is very real and his actions have even more consequences than usual.
Franco’s character will meet the witches – Theodora (Kunis) and sister Glinda, who are initially both aligned with the forces of good. But when the wizard-to-be turns down Theodora’s sexual advances, she joins up with bad witch Evanora to take over the land.
After a long bout of development, Raimi is now getting ready to direct the movie this summer from David Lindsay-Abaire’s latest script draft. He’s also busy looking for actresses to play the other witches, with Variety reporting that Olivia Wilde, Amy Adams, Kate Beckinsale, Keira Knightley and Rebecca Hall have all been under consideration. The usual bunch, then…
Oz will see Kunis and Franco reunited after their roles as a criminal couple in Date Night. She’ll also crop up in Seth McFarlane’s Ted, playing Mark Wahlberg’s love interest.