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Sam Mendes Might Direct RDJ in Oz The Great And Powerful

by Alex Billington
April 20, 2010
Source: Prod Weekly, Pajiba

What the heck is this? Now that James Bond 23, which Sam Mendes was going to direct, has been delayed indefinitely, Mendes is out looking for other projects to take on instead. And this is one we've never heard of before. Production Weekly reports via Twitter that Mendes is now the "front runner" to direct a movie called Oz The Great And Powerful. Not only that, but apparently Robert Downey Jr. may even play the Wizard! You heard that right - Tony Stark is going to become the all powerful, wonderful Wizard of Oz! Then again, who knows how soon this will actually start shooting, as it seems like this is still very early in development.

Oz The Great And Powerful is a film formerly known as Brick (not sure why?) written by Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Nine Yards, Into the Blue 2: The Reef). The project is being developed by an executive-turned-producer named Joe Roth and focuses on how the Wizard of Oz came to sit behind the curtain. In brief, it's an origin story about the Wizard, based on pieces from several other L. Frank Baum "Oz" books as well as his original ideas. That info comes from Pajiba and the LA Times, since this is one of many Wizard of Oz related projects in the works, including sequels and other wacky ideas (like Todd McFarlane's darker Oz).

Pajiba also confirms that Downey Jr. has at least been offered the role (but hasn't accepted yet, as far as we can tell) so it's a strong possibility that some day soon we could see Downey as the Wizard. But for now this is just one of many Wizard of Oz-related projects in development, although this one has some of the greatest talent (director and actor) attached out of any of them so far. Sound like something you want to see?

Explore tags: Casting, Movie News, Rumors

Daniel Felts

Sounds like loads of fun. Seriously.
Xerxex

Sound A W E S O M E!!!! Mendes and Downey Jr. just sounds awesome.
prestron

I hereby postulate that the former title "Brick" is in reference to the "Yellow Bricks" of the "Yellow Brick Road". One might even say I followed the yellow brick road to a reasonable assumption.
Hellfudge

Sounds kinda corny.
Sharlto

it actually sounds awesome even though I don't really care for wizard of oz, I dont see how this couldnt be interesting to anyone
Mega Jet Jaguar

Yeeaaaahhh! I'm going off the rail on a crazy train! Flying high again, Whoooh! Yeah, Ozzy! Oops...Nevermind.
Cody w

Am I the only one getting tired of this guy being cast in every main role lately? Seriously hes a good actor but Im almost getting sick of looking at him.
Mike

Why is Iron Man going to fight Piccolo?
Johnnie Walker

This'll never happen. RDJ is at the top of every studio's wish list, so he's getting offers every day. This is just one of the few the public actually hears about.
flyingmonkeyman

geez. Talk about gluttons for failure. This one will almost certainly clog the commode on its way down. Ridiculous idea.
SlashBeast

Let me guess which character Downey Jr. is going to play, a fast talking, smarmy, and always quick to recover from anything thrown at him guy. Oh wait, that's pretty much the only character he plays.