Disney's Pinocchio Live-Action Remake Eyeing Alan Cumming and Stephen Graham for Key Roles

Development continues on Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Pinocchio as legendary filmmaker [...]

By Spencer Perry

Development continues on Disney's upcoming live-action remake of Pinocchio as legendary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis new version of the film continues its charge toward production. Academy Award winner Tom Hanks remains in talks to take on the role of Geppetto in the film and a new report has shed some light on more potential casting for the project while also revealing some other elements from the animated film that will seemingly be present. According to a new report from The Illuminerdi, actors Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire, Rocketman) and Alan Cumming (X2: X-Men United, The Good Wife) are potentially up for two major roles in the film.

The outlet reports that Graham is "being eye" for the role of the Coachman, described as "a sinister, shadowy figure who is notorious for luring little boys to Pleasure Island where they are transformed into donkeys;" while Cummings is "connected" to the part of Honest John, described as "a literal and metaphorical fox. A sly con-man. He encourages Pinocchio to stop going to school and sells him to the circus." According to the official descriptions for the characters, the Coachman will be a live-action role while Honest John (the fox seen in the original animated film) will be a voiceover for an animated character.

The Back to the Future filmmaker will direct from a script he co-wrote with Chris Weitz (Cinderella, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The duo will pen the latest version of the Pinocchio screenplay from a previous draft Weitz wrote with Simon Farnaby. Weitz will also produce alongside Andrew Miano.

It's unclear when the film will officially go in front of cameras, but Disney has also not officially confirmed a release date for the project (despite having plenty of available dates). There is a slight possibility of audience confusion though as dueling Pinocchio projects are in the works. A stop-motion animated version of the story is being produced for Netflix by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro (featuring David Bradley of the Harry Potter franchise in the Geppetto role and Ewan McGregor as Cricket). That version is expected to debut on Netflix sometime in 2021.

Disney's live-action Pinocchio on the other hand joins the likes of Peter Pan & Wendy, The Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and countless others on the studio's list of planned live-action remakes of their animated films.

What are you hoping to see in the live-action Pinocchio? Sound off in the comments below and let us know!

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