While Disney isn’t slowing down on making live-action adaptations of its entire animated library, it looks like their live-actionPinocchiomay have hit a bit of a snag. In February 2018, we reported thatPaddingtonandPaddington 2directorPaul Kingwas on board to directPinocchio, and it looked like cameras were gearing up to roll this summer withpossiblyTom Hankson board to play Geppetto. But now it looks like King is off the project.
Speaking toDiscussing Film[viaComicBook], cinematographerSeamus McGarveysaid that the project is no longer happening:
“I don’t think it’s a secret anymore, but the film has been cancelled over the holidays, over Christmas.
“The director basically pulled out of the film, for um, family reasons. Disney are trying to find a new director, but yeah, I read those reports that Tom Hanks and all those other people, but yeah, they’re trying to get it going.”
While Disney has yet to confirm that King is out, that would be a bit of a stumble for the project, which previously lostSam Mendesback in November 2017. King was set to work from a script he co-wrote with hisPaddingtonscreenwriterSimon Farnaby.
AlthoughPinocchiomay be up in the air, Disney still has plenty of other live-action adaptations in the works including a Cruella de Vil movie starring Emma Stone,Maleficent 2,Mulan,The Little Mermaid,Lilo & Stitch,The Sword in the Stone, andPeter Pan. WhilePinocchiois obviously a top-tier character with instant name recognition, it’s not like this will slow Disney down when it comes to turning their animated library into live-action movies.
As for King, we previously reported that whilePaddington 3was in the works,he wasn’t on board to direct. Now that he’s no longer attached toPinocchio, I can’t help but wonder/hope that calculus has changed. However, with King reportedly leavingPinocchiodue to a personal emergency, the most important thing is that he gets that taken care of. We wish him all the best.
