Disney's 'Pinocchio' Live-Action Loses Director Sam Mendes
Sam Mendes will no longer direct Disney's live-action treatment of "Pinocchio." No reason was given as to why he dropped out, but the studio won't likely have problems with the film's progress despite the setback.
Tracking Board exclusively reported on the latest developments in the "Pinocchio" live-action. Disney, however, has enough time to look for Mendes' replacement since the movie has no confirmed slot in the studio's release calendar.
For now, Disney is more pre-occupied with the production and completion of live-action adaptations like "Dumbo," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King." These films are expected to be in theaters on March 2019, May 2019 and July 2019 respectively.
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It should also be cleared that Mendes' exit in the "Pinocchio" live-action movie doesn't have anything to do with the production of "Bond 25." While he directed the last two James Bond films, "Skyfall" and "Spectre," Mendes already said in 2016 that he won't be doing a new Bond movie to give the franchise fresh eyes from a new director.
Mendes' decision to quit the Disney movie might have to do with his West End play "The Ferryman," which returned to the stage this October. Its run has been extended until May 2018.
Disney's "Pinocchio" live-action comes from a Chris Weitz script. The scribe also wrote the live-action version of "Cinderella" that starred Lily James and Richard Madden, which Disney released in 2015.
Meanwhile, a separate, non-Disney and darker version of "Pinocchio" was also in the works with director Guillermo del Toro. He recently announced, however, that his film about the wooden boy that came to life has been shelved.
"The idea was to do Pinocchio during the ascension of fascism in Italy, with Mussolini," del Torro said. "It was a good time to discuss the idea of being a puppet or being a human, but you know, it's not in progress."
