Even though "Oz the Great and Powerful," Sam Raimi's boldly imaginative sort-of prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," is only opening today, Disney is so confident in the project that they've already started actively developing a sequel.
According to a report in Variety, Disney has retained screenwriter Mitchell Kapner, who co-wrote "Oz the Great and Powerful" with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire ("Rabbit Hole"), commissioning him to draft a new screenplay that can incorporate elements from the L. Frank Baum novel "The Wonderful World of Oz."
Keep in mind, Kapner will once again have to avoid a number of iconic elements from the original "Wizard of Oz" that are technically off-limits (MGM owns the rights), like the ruby slippers and the look of certain characters and locations, something we noted in our rundown of the differences between "Wizard of Oz" and "Oz the Great and Powerful."
Granted just because Disney has hired a writer doesn't mean it's a sure thing. For example, Disney hired "Alice in Wonderland" screenwriter Linda Woolverton to pen a sequel, and that was right after the movie made over $1 billion worldwide (in 2010). Three years later, and still no "Alice 2."
[via Variety]
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