Can You See Robert Downey Jr. As The Wizard Of Oz?

Apparently some people whose opinion matters can.  The word on the street says there's a Wizard of Oz prequel in the works at Disney, where they're looking to get the project together at a rapid pace.  The project could also mean an upswing for director Sam Mendes since his split with wife Kate Winslet just last month and an indefinite postponement of the next James Bond installment he was to direct. He, Adam Shankman, and Baz Luhrmann are rumored to be in close consideration to direct the feature, which tells the story the story of the Great and Powerful Oz before he became the man behind the curtain in the Emerald city and worked in a traveling circus.

There are also rumors of Johnny Depp as a contender for the Wizard role, but we hope Disney decides against him.  He's great and everything, but such an obvious choice, right?  The Wizard character is said to be more dark and complex than the one we know from the original version and we'd really like to see him take that on.

This is all very exciting. The Wizard of Oz is a classic and we can't wait to see what direction the prequel takes, let's hope they do it right. And by right, we mean with munchkins.

[Photo by Terry Richardson via fashionindie]