‘Oz the Great and Powerful 2′ – Sam Raimi Not Interested in Directing the Sequel

'Oz the Great and Powerful' opens in theaters today and, as we reported last night, Disney is already looking forward to 'Oz the Great and Powerful 2' in the future. But while they may be able to get the cast to return, director Sam Raimi says he has no interest in stepping back behind the cameras for an 'Oz the Great and Powerful 2.'

Though Raimi went on to direct three 'Spider-Man' films (and had designs on a fourth before Sony abruptly pulled the rug out from under him) but the 'Oz' direct has no plans to make such a trilogy out of 'Oz the Great and Powerful.' He spoke with HeyUGuys and had this to say about 'Oz the Great and Powerful 2':

I don’t really have plans to direct the sequel. I’ve put into the picture one or two loose ends in case another director wants to make the picture. If Disney made a lot of money and the audience really wanted to see one then they would make one, but I was attracted to it because of the story of the growth of this human being, and I don’t think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested.

To date, Raimi has no announced plans for what his next directing project would be, despite producing the remakes of 'Evil Dead' and Poltergeist.' Could we see Raimi return to his horror roots for an upcoming film? It had been four years in between Raimi's last two films - 'Drag Me to Hell' in 2009 and now 'Oz' in 2013 - and one would hope it's not that long between now and whatever his next project would be.

As for 'Oz the Great and Powerful 2,' we're sure that Disney would love to have Raimi back but also won't exactly wait around for him if they decide to move forward with this franchise. So if Raimi doesn't come back, who could step in to direct the next 'Oz?'