Oz the Great and Powerful

film by Raimi [2013]

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July 20, 2026

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Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 film that serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Sam Raimi, the movie stars James Franco as the title character and Michelle Williams as Glinda. The film explores the events that led to the Wizard becoming the ruler of the Land of Oz.1

The original story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is a children's book written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900. It tells the tale of Dorothy, a girl from Kansas who is transported by a cyclone to the magical Land of Oz. There, she embarks on a journey with a Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion to seek the Great Wizard Oz's help in returning home. The 1939 film adaptation, also titled The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, is a classic musical film that has become more familiar than the book itself.12

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Sam Raimi
Comic-book adaptations and later films
…the big-budget family adventure film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). Although a critical disappointment, Raimi’s take on L. Frank Baum’s mythos was a hit with audiences. That same year Raimi produced Evil Dead, a remake that replaced the original film’s absurd gore with the brutally rendered violence more typical…
Read More
…the big-budget family adventure film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). Although a critical disappointment, Raimi’s take on L. Frank Baum’s mythos was a hit with audiences. That same year Raimi produced Evil Dead, a remake that replaced the original film’s absurd gore with the brutally rendered violence more typical…
Read More

Michelle Williams
…the good witch Glinda in Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), a film inspired by L. Frank Baum’s Oz series of children’s books. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as Sally Bowles in a revival of Cabaret.
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…the good witch Glinda in Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), a film inspired by L. Frank Baum’s Oz series of children’s books. She made her Broadway debut in 2014 as Sally Bowles in a revival of Cabaret.
Read More