Los Angeles, Nov 25 (IANS): Actress Rachel Weisz was thrilled when she bagged the chance to play Wicked Witch of the East in "The Wizard Of Oz" prequel because it gave her the chance to play a villain.

The actress stars alongside James Franco as the wizard in upcoming movie "Oz: The Great and Powerful", which is based on the books of L. Frank Baum and tells the story previous to Judy Garland's famous 1939 film.

Mila Kunis plays Theodora, the Wicked Witch of the West, while Weisz tackles the role of Evanora, the Wicked Witch of the East. She says she relished the chance to show off her bad side, reports dailystar.co.uk.

"It's the prequel to 'The Wizard Of Oz', the genesis of how he became the Wizard and got to Emerald City. There are huge, fantastical special effects - and I can fly. I'd never done anything like that. I play Evanora the Wicked Witch of the East. She's so bad, so it's a total departure (from my other films)," Weisz told Deadline.com.

The "Mummy" star now prefers to tackle smaller and independent movies. But she is also open to returning to blockbusters.

"Working with a green screen (on blockbusters) is easy. It's just like being a kid. But it's not nearly as satisfying. I prefer smaller movies because they tend to be more about character than about story... (But) you can't plumb the depths (of emotion) all the time," she said.