JAMES FRANCO – The New WIZARD OF OZ?

OSCAR nominee James Franco is reportedly in talks to replace Robert Downey Jr. as the wonderful wizard in upcoming Disney movie OZ: The Great And Powerful!

The ‘127 Hours‘ star has emerged as the new favourite to head up Sam Raimi‘s ‘Wizard of Oz‘ prequel, which is based on L. Frank Baum‘s classic books.

The movie (due for release in 2013) will be set before Judy Garland‘s original 1939 flick and focuses on an illusionist who flees a travelling circus in a hot air balloon, which is caught up in a tornado and swept to the land of Oz.

Downey Jr. walked away from the project last month and Disney bosses had reportedly approached Johnny Depp to take on the role. However the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ star is said rejected the offer due to other filming commitments.

Franco and Raimi collaborated on the Spider-Man franchise and last teamed up for ‘Spider-Man 3‘ in 2007.