UPDATE: Is James Franco Sam Raimi's 'Oz, The Great & Powerful'?

UPDATE: Yep, he's in closing deals to star in the film opposite Mila Kunis. Good for Franco. I was afraid he didn't have enough to keep him satisfied with life. Sweetness!

EARLIER: Add James Franco to the list of potential stars of Disney's developing Wizard of Oz prequel Oz, The Great and Powerful. Sam Raimi is directing the high priority project with Joe Roth producing, and together they've been courting Hollywood's most eligible leading men for the title role including Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp.

Downey dropped out last month to focus on his own packed schedule while Depp, a more recent possibility, has officially dropped out of the running as of last night, leaving the film once again without a star. If cast, the Oscar-nominated co-host of this month's Academy Awards ceremony would be reuniting with director Raimi for the first time since the Spider-Man trilogy, which came to a close in the summer of 2007. The source notes that deal-making conversations have not yet begun, but the studio is pushing for a mid-2011 start to reach a holiday 2012 release.

I am fully aware of Franco's abilities as an actor, having followed his work closely since the days of Freaks and Geeks and ultimately talking with him about his turn in 127 Hours at the Hamptons International Film Festival this past October. It's obvious, from his recent role choices, that he's enthusiastic about keeping things fresh with a variety of projects spanning numerous genres and mediums, but I just don't see him in a part as eccentric as this should be. Furthermore, I feel like we may be hitting the point of Franco over-saturation, as the actor is now rumored for or offered nearly every major film heading into production. I know that he's more than just a "flavor of the month" performer, but I'd like to see someone else man that hot-air balloon.

Of course, Working with a director that he's got experience with will certainly help, but I was leaning more toward Downey, and though Depp has been beating us over the head with with freaky fantasy characters since he became Jack Sparrow, I could see him as the Wizard before Franco. I hope that if he does win the part I'm proven wrong, but he just isn't what I pictured Oz to be.