Sam Raimi Officially Directing Oz

Deadline reports that director Sam Raimi's next film will be Disney's Oz: The Great & Powerful. The director had been actively working on the Warcraft film for WB/Legendary Pictures but it looks like he'll helm this film first. The prequel has Robert Downey Jr. attached to star as a younger version of the Wizard. David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) has come on board to rewrite the film's script. I expect that the film will start production later next year. Since RDJ is looking to star in both Avengers and Gravity before this project.