"Oz: The Great & Powerful" Gains Rachel Weisz As The Evil Witch

The English actress may soon show off her wicked side.

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Rachel Weisz is in negotiations to play a powerful and evil witch named Evanora in Oz: The Great and Powerful, Disney's prequel-ish take on The Wizard of Oz that's set to star James Franco and Mila Kunis.

Director Sam Raimi's (the Spider-Man movies) flick will center on Franco as Oz, a snake oil salesman who ends up escaping from a traveling circus in a hot air balloon, which whisks him into a fabled land where he runs into genuine witches.

Weisz would play Evanora, who intends to rule the land and is the sister of Kunis' character, Theadora, who starts out as a good witch alongside her beautiful sister Glinda (who still needs to be cast). But after Oz rejects her sexual come-ons (what a fool), Theadora is convinced by Evanora to turn to the dark side and help her older sister overpower Oz.

The role would be a change of pace for the Oscar-winning actress Weisz, who, despite her eclectic resume ranging from The Constant Gardener to Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights to The Mummy, is mostly recognized for smaller films.

Oz: The Great and Powerful is on track to swoop into theaters some time in 2013.

[Via /Film]

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