Disney's 'Prince Charming' Live-Action Film Lands Writer, Potential Director
The planned Disney "Prince Charming" live-action film is moving forward. The studio hired writer Stephen Chbosky for the screenplay but he could also potentially direct the movie about the perennial leading man in Disney's animated fairy tales.
Matt Fogel originally wrote the spec script for "Prince Charming." Its story will be told from the point of view of the prince's less-accomplished and little-known brother.
Disney first announced the project as in development during the height of the success of the live-action version of "Cinderella" in 2015. "Prince Charming" has been billed as a comedy.
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Chbosky's hiring comes on the heels of the opening of his latest film, "Wonder," which he also wrote and directed. The movie stars Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, and child actor Jacob Tremblay. He also wrote the book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and adapted its screenplay in 2012. This movie starred Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, and Logan Lerman.
The writer and director will reunite with executives David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman for "Prince Charming." Both produced Chbosky's most recent movie as well as the live-action version of "Beauty and the Beast."
Casting for "Prince Charming" has not yet started. "Game of Thornes" star Richard Madden played the character in the "Cinderella" live-action version opposite Lily James but it's still unclear if the project will tie both movies.
Disney used the character of Prince Charming for a bigger role in the "Cinderella" 1950s animated classic. He's also the most popularly-known prince among Disney's other fairy tales and the studio further gave the character a backstory in "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True" (2002) and "Cinderella III: A Twist in Time" (2007).
The prince also sang a song in one of these animated films. "The Face That I See in the Night" never made it in the final cut on the big screen and it remains in the Disney vault.
Prince Charming doesn't go by a familiar full name. In 1971, however, an airing of "Disney on Parade" introduced him as Prince Alto August Ferdinand.
