'The Sword in the Stone' Live-Action Remake News: Is Disney Planning a Horror Spin to the 1963 Classic?
Disney is eyeing Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to direct the live-action remake of 1963 animated movie "The Sword in the Stone."
Fresnadillo is recognized for his horror and thriller movies like "Intacto" and the more recent one titled "Intruders," but he is best known for directing the zombie movie "28 Weeks Later," which serves as the follow-up to the 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film "28 Days Later" directed by Danny Boyle.
Fresnadillo is quite an interesting choice for the project since his résumé is dominated by films in the horror genre, which is far from what "The Sword in the Stone" is about, at least looking at the original.
Rotten Tomatoes suggests the possibility that the classic movie could get the horror and thriller treatment with Fresnadillo at the helm and this will no doubt be quite the interesting and surprising spin to such film.
The news about Fresnadillo's "The Sword in the Stone" gig comes only a couple of weeks after the legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott was announced to helm the movie franchise surrounding the famous literary character Merlin that Disney is building.
"The Sword in the Stone" is part of this effort since the original, which is based on the book of the same name by T.H. White, follows King Arthur in his early years when he first meets the legendary wizard.
"The Sword in the Stone" is the latest attempt of Disney to give some of its classics the live-action spin, but is not the only one brewing at the moment.
The studio is also working on live-action reimaginings of "Dumbo," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King," but way ahead in development is the live-action "Mulan" with Chinese actress Yifei Liu in the title role. The most recent one to hit the big screen is "Beauty and the Beast" starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.