Sam Raimi may direct Wizard of Oz prequel

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Spider-Man helmer Sam Raimi has been offered the chance to direct Oz, The Great and Powerful, the sequel to 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.
The filmmaker has been offered the chance to helm the Disney prequel by the producers although he is yet to take up the offer. Other directors who were rumo-ured to be in line for the director’s chair included Sam Mendes, Timur Bekmambetov and Adam Shan-kman. But Mendes pulled out of the project to work on the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical and On Chesil Beach, contactmusic reported.
Robert Downey Jr is set to take on the role of the all-powerful wizard. While Ra-imi is the favourite to direct Oz, The Great and Powe-rful, one project he won’t be involved in is Spider-Man 4 after quitting his role. “While we were looking forward to doing a fourth one together, the studio and Marvel have a unique opportunity to take the franchise in a new direction, and I know they will do a terrific job,” he said.