With it being three years since Sam Raimi‘s modest-budgest horror Drag Me To Hell and even longer since he left the Spider-Man franchise, it’s been quite some time since the Evil Dead director ventured in the major tentpole arena. But the time has come, as the helmer’s next feature, another, very different take on the Wizard of Oz, arrives in theaters next spring. Coming from Hall H of Comic-Con to your doorstep, the first trailer for Oz the Great and Powerful has debuted.

Starting in 4:3, black-and-white akin to the original classic, we then jump into the beautiful Land of Oz, following the magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) as he’s transported into this one world. It’s no surprise that Joe Roth, the man behind Alice In Wonderland and Snow White and the Huntsman is producing this one as well, since the same care for lavish visual world-building is here. Although this teaser doesn’t give any indication, one hopes the story is much stronger with these outings. Nonetheless, it’s hard not to anticipate a new film from Raimi and one can check out the promising first look below for the film also starring Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams and Zach Braff.

Synopsis:

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Oz the Great and Powerful arrives on March 8th, 2013.