14 DAY TRIAL // Disney is so confident that “Oz the Great and Powerful” will do well at the box office that it’s already working on a sequel, Variety has learned.
Of course, for the time being, the studio isn’t saying anything officially about it, presumably because it’s waiting for box office figures to come back. When they do come back great, it will give the sequel the greenlight.
“Studio has commissioned a follow up to ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ from screenwriter Mitchell Kapner, who co-wrote the first film with David Lindsay-Abaire,” Variety says.
“While no plot details are yet available, Kapner can work with what’s featured in L. Frank Baum’s novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ which is public domain. But he can’t use any of the iconic creative additions from the original film — Dorothy’s ruby slippers, for example — as Warner Bros. owns the 1939 film,” adds the same media outlet.
“Oz the Great and Powerful” is a prequel to the story in the book. It stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz and came out in theaters yesterday, March 8.