Disney Already Working on a 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' Sequel [UPDATE: Will Sam Raimi Direct?]

With Oz: The Great and Powerful on track to open between $75 and $80 million its opening weekend, it's no surprise that Disney is already moving forward on a sequel. According to a Variety report, the studio has already hired Mitchell Kapner, a co-writer on Oz: The Great and Powerful, to pen the sequel.

I'm curious to see what direction Disney goes with this franchise. The introduction of Dorothy seems like a logical move down the road, but how will audiences respond to a version of the character that's quite different from the Judy Garland version that's the definitive version? As Warner Bros. has the rights to that film, Disney will only be able to work from L. Frank Baum's books, which means no ruby slippers.

No word on which castmembers (or, which witch castmembers) will return for an Oz sequel, but I would have to guess that Disney has options on James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams should they need them for future films.

UPDATE: According to a chat BleedingCool had with Oz: The Great and Powerful director Sam Raimi, it looks like Disney will have to find someone else to helm this sequel.

I haven’t planned on directing the sequel. I did leave some loose ends for another director if they want to make the picture. I tried to make it a complete ending, so that the audience would be fulfilled, but I also [Spoiler removed — Popculturology editor]. I was attracted to this story but I don’t think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested.

This has pretty much become standard for franchises these days, hasn't it? Harry Potter constantly changed directors. The Hunger Games and Planet of the Apes moved on without the guys who directed their first installments. Even Star Wars could be planning on following this path, with JJ Abrams only being announced as the director of Episode VII.