Despite losing out on an Oscar nomination, Mila Kunis remains a hot Hollywood commodity after the success of Black Swan. The actress has dropped out of a planned live action remake of Akira and signed on to play Theodorah, otherwise known as The Wicked Witch of the West in Oz, the Great and Powerful.
The film, to be directed by Sam Raimi, is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It will follow the titular character (to be played by James Franco) and the witches of Oz before Dorothy Gale’s house lands on Theodorah’s older sister, Evanorah. The script was written by David Lindsay-Abaire (Inkheart).
Kunis’ departure from Akira, which was to be produced and directed by the Hughes brothers (Book of Eli), is the third high-profile loss the project has suffered. Brad Pitt was offered the lead role of Kaneda but he turned it down. Interestingly, James Franco also passed on the part. Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves is writing the script
