Last we heard, Johnny Depp was in line to replace Robert Downey Jr. as the Wizard in director Sam Raimi‘s upcoming new take on the tale of The Wizard of Oz, being called Oz, The Great and Powerful.

Not long after that, Depp also removed himself from the project, making it one of those annoying situations where every name you could think of was likely to become attached. Instead, the next to be offered the role was James Franco, and at the moment this looks to be a done deal. As good as Franco is, it is still a step down from Depp, who was himself a step down from Downey Jr., who seemed to be the perfect fit as the man who finds himself swept away to the magical lands of Oz, where he solidifies himself as an all-powerful wizard.

For as long as we’ve heard about The Walt Disney Company’s Oz, The Great and Powerful, the plan has been for Robert Downey Jr. to star as the Wizard.

The movie, being directed by Sam Raimi, is based on the classic L. Frank Baum tale, The Wizard of Oz, but more of a spinoff of sorts, telling the story of the Wizard before he became the Wizard — back when he was just a young illusionist. Eventually, after running from the circus he was working with, his hot air balloon is caught in a storm and whisked off to Oz, where he creates a new life and establishes himself as an all-powerful wizard.

As much as everyone wanted to see Downey Jr. in the role, however, it’s being reported that the actor has had to step away from the project for unknown reasons. Thankfully, an equally respected actor is in the beginning stages of discussions with Disney to take on the role, and that actor is none other than Johnny Depp, naturally.

The $9 t-shirt deal of the day over at Teefury is called “Oz Wars,” a mashed up of Star Wars with The Wizard Of Oz by artist Denism79.

The sale at Teefury began at midnight EST (Sunday, December 27, 2010) and will continue for 24 hours from then, and once it’s over, it’s gone forever.

The t-shirt design shows the characters from the original Star Wars trilogy in the roles from The Wizard Of Oz. Princess Leia, hair buns and all, is Dorothy; C-3PO is the Scarecrow; R2-D2 is the Tin Man, Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion, and Darth Vader is Dorothy’s little dog Toto.

Yes, there are an astonishing amount of Wizard of Oz remakes, adaptations, and sequels that currently seem to be on the way at the moment. Whether they’ll all make it to the big screen remains to be seen, but that’s not stopping others from adding to the pile.

Vanguard Films has a new re-imagining of the classic tale in development called Oz Wars that will use CGI and stop-motion animations. Unlike most of the other Oz projects in the works — which seem to be staying generally close to the original story — this one will be taking things to a seriously different level, being set in the contemporary world and bringing black magic, battle-ready warrior witches, monsters, and even martial arts to the table.

There’s been plenty of talks of L. Frank Baum‘s classic 1900 tale, The Wizard of Oz, getting a few new movie adaptations.

The majority of the news we’ve heard comes from Walt Disney’s new spin on the original story, Oz: The Great and Powerful, that’s now being developed and directed by Sam Raimi with hopes of bringing in Robert Downey Jr. for the lead role of the Wizard.

Today, however, brings news from another one of the Oz films in the works. It’s being reported that Warner Brothers is now in negotiations with Robert Zemeckis to direct their version of the tale. And what will their version of the tale be? Well, it looks like it will be something familiar to all of us. Instead of re-adapting Baum’s book to avoid stepping on the toes of the classic 1939 film that everyone knows and loves, Warner Bros. is planning to use the actual screenplay from the ’39 film for this movie.