A little over a month ago it was reported that Skyfall director Sam Mendes had dropped out of directing Disney’s live-action adaptation of Pinocchio. Now Disney has found a new director ready to take on the project.
Paul King who directed both Paddington and it’s sequel to critical acclaim has signed on to direct the remimaging of Disney’s classic animated film.
King has been on Disney’s radar for awhile now, and was even a top choice to direct Disney’s remake of James And The Giant Peach (Another film that had Sam Mendes attached to direct).
Production is expected to begin this fall.
The film will be produced by Chris Weitz’s production company, Depth of Field, with Weitz and Andrew Miano producing. Weitz, the screenwriter behind Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella and Lucasfilm’s first Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had penned a draft of the film’s script but it is now being rewritten by Jack Thorne, the screenwriter who was previously reported to be tasked with rewriting Star Wars: Episode IX before J.J. Abrams took over the project.
Released in 1940, Pinocchio was the second animated movie made by Disney, after 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It adapted the Italian story by Carlo Collodi about a wooden boy puppet crafted by an old carver named Geppetto. The boy is brought to life by a fairy who says he will become a real boy if he shows bravery. The character of Jiminy Cricket becomes his de facto conscience and tried to steer him in the right direction. What follows is a series of adventures that include Pinocchio being kidnapped to be part of a puppet show, getting turned into a donkey, and being swallowed by a whale.
Pinocchio currently has no release date as of yet.
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I thought we already had in mind a darker version of Pinocchio coming from Tim Burton, and now there is this other Disney live action. It is like The Jungle Book (2016). People still remember it and now we will also have Mowgli (2018).