Paul Thomas Anderson to write Robert Downey Jr.’s Pinocchio; may also direct

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Well this is certainly…interesting news; Paul Thomas Anderson, yes that Paul Thomas Anderson, has stepped in to write a new draft for Robert Downey Jr.'s long-in-development PINOCCHIO film. The pair have apparently been wanting to work together for a while now, in fact Robert Downey Jr. was attached to Anderson's INHERENT VICE but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.

The increased number of upcoming live-action adaptations of classic children's stories, such as THE JUNGLE BOOK, DUMBO, MULAN, WINNIE THE POOH, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, TINKERBELL, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, likely lit a fire under Robert Downey Jr.'s butt to get the ball rolling. The actor will be teaming up with Warner Bros. to bring this new live-action PINOCCHIO to life with Downey himself taking on the role of Geppetto. The lastest draft of PINOCCHIO came from Michael Mitnick (THE GIVER) but according to THR, Downey had been working on the script himself for the past six months. In addition to taking over writing duties, there's a chance that Anderson could direct the film as well.

While it may seem like an unusual project for Anderson to attach himself to, his involvement speaks to the promise PINOCCHIO may bring as I've enjoyed each and every one of his past works. Disney also has their own live-action PINOCCHIO film in development so it seems likely that we'll be witness to dueling PINOCCHIO films at some point in the future.