First we had Dumbo and now, we’re gettin’ Pinocchio. Disney’s been remaking their old animated flicks into full-fledged live-action productions at an alarming rate and this particular adaptation of the wooden puppet’s exploits has been floating around for an absurd amount of time, at one point even having Paul Thomas Anderson attached back in 2015. Now, we’re learning that storied director Robert Zemeckis is in talks to take over the troubled film and is likely to sign on.
Zemeckis, famous for directing Back to the Future and Forrest Gump among others, comes aboard hot off polishing up a different, spookier tale: The Witches, where he’s going to somehow turn Anne Hathaway ugly, which is no simple feat. From what we understand, Zemeckis’ old pal Tom Hanks was in talks at one point to portray Gepetto in the Mouse House’s remake, but that doesn’t seem to be on the cards anymore.
It’s been said that despite not officially accepting a deal just yet, Zemeckis is already pondering potential casting for Pinocchio’s dad. If not Hanks, who else? Personally, I think it’d be fun to see Tom Hardy soften up a bit, or maybe Keanu with a little extra grey? Oh man, what about Bruce Campbell? Nah, too grumpy.
Hollywood regular Chris Weitz, who also worked on that 2015 Cinderella adaptation, co-wrote the most recent script for the project but it will undoubtedly be polished up once Zemeckis comes on board. Of course, whether the pic will actually get off the ground this time remains to be seen, but we remain hopeful.
What do you all think, though? Who would your dream director be to tackle yet another Disney classic brought to life? Should we just get Jon Favreau again? He’d make one creepy Pinocchio, that’s for sure.