Disney’s Pinocchio live-action remakeis finally happening as director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future) has closed a deal to direct the movie. This has been a long-gestating project, and one that has seen several filmmakers come and go over the years, includingPaddingtonandPaddington 2filmmaker Paul King. Now, it’s in Zemeckis' hands and it looks like things will be getting serious in a hurry.
According to a new report,Robert Zemeckishas locked down a deal to co-write and direct thePinocchioremake. As we previously reported last October, Zemeckis had been in discussions with the studio for the gig, but nothing materialized until now. It’s said that Zemeckis will write a new draft of the screenplay alongside Chris Weitz (About a Boy,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). The expectation is that production could begin before year’s end. Should that hold, we are likely to hear of possible casting decisions and maybe even some story details in the coming months. It had previously been reported that Tom Hanks was being eyed to possibly play Geppetto at one point, but there has been no updates on that front in some time.
Robert Zemeckis has had an impressive career and is best known for his work on theBack to the Futuretrilogy. Some of his other classic works includeForrest Gump,Cast AwayandWho Framed Roger Rabbit?In recent years, however, he’s hit something of a slump, with movies like,The Walk,AlliedandWelcome to Marwenmajorly underperforming at the box office. Things seem to be looking up though, as Zemeckis is not only on board for what is poised to be a majorDisneyproject, but he’s also got his remake ofThe Witchesset to hit theaters later this year.
Pinocchiowas originally released by Disney in 1940 and remainsone of the studio’s most cherished classics. It centers on a man named Geppeto who makes a puppet that is, one fateful night, transformed into a real boy. It proved to be a huge hit at the time, grossing $85 million. That’s not a lot by today’s standards, but adjusted for inflation, it would be huge. The Walt Disney classic has also made the company quite a bit of money over the years thanks to various re-releases on different home media formats that have evolved from generation to generation.
Disney has had atremendous amount of luck with live-action remakes at the box officein recent years.Aladdinwent on to gross $1 billion in 2019 and, though technically animated,The Lion Kingremake made a truly impressive $1.65 billion. The studio has other live-action remakes coming down the pipeline as well, includingThe Little Mermaidand a101 Dalmatiansprequel,Cruella, as well as this year’sMulan, which hits theaters in March.Pinocchiodoes not yet have a release date set, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted as further details are made available. This news comes to us viaDeadline.
