Alan Cumming (X2) and Stephen Graham (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) are reportedly being eyed for roles in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Pinocchio.
According to The Illuminerdi, Cumming is being looked at to play Honest John, A literal and metaphorical fox. A sly con-man. He encourages Pinocchio to stop going to school and sells him to the circus. Graham is being looked for the Coachman, A sinister, shadowy figure who is notorious for luring little boys to Pleasure Island where they are transformed into donkeys.
Read: 20 Weeks of Disney Animation: ‘Pinocchio’
The studio is currently casting for roles such as Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Gideon (the character will be a female in this adaptation), Stromboli, and the Blue Fairy. Tom Hanks (Toy Story 4) is on board the project as Geppetto, making this his fourth collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?)
Pinocchio is expected to start production in April under the working title “Maestro.” The film, which will be released theatrically, is expected to have a budget of over $150 million, Disney’s live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book had similar budgets, so expect the House of Mouse to put Pinocchio on a grand scale visually.
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.
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