Best known for his work on horror films like Evil Dead and action blockbusters like the Spider-Man films, Sam Raimi may not be the first director who comes to mind for Disney’s new Wizard of Oz film. But Raimi says Oz: The Great and Powerful is like nothing he’s done before.

Raimi calls the original Wizard of Oz ”one of my favorite movies of all time,” but instead of following Dorothy down the Yellow Brick Road, Oz: The Great and Powerful will be an origin story for the Wizard, played by actor James Franco. Raimi talked to Wired about his new take on the much-beloved classic, and its backstory on how the famous man behind the curtain “got to the magical land of Oz, and who he was … and how he became the Wizard.”

Oz: The Great and Powerful is slated for a March 2013 release.