Robert Redford is in early negotiations to star in Disney's PETE'S DRAGON remake, according to THR. David Lowery (AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS) will direct the film from a script Lowery co-wrote with Toby Halbrooks, and it'll be live-action with CGI used for the dragon. If Redford does join the movie, the CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER star will be playing a local who tells stories about dragons that no one believes.
The site also has some additional details on the remake. The original 1977 movie was set in a fishing village, however according to THR the new version will be "set against the backdrop of loggers cutting down a forest," which of course is where Elliot the dragon lives, and he's been raising Pete (Boardwalk Empire's Oakes Fegley) in the woods ever since the child's parents died in a car accident. Oona Laurence will also star in the film as the daughter of a mill owner, and other major characters of the movie include a forest ranger who discovers Pete and the mill owner's greedy brother.
Confession time: I don't think I ever watched all of PETE'S DRAGON as a kid. Maybe parts of it, but I don't remember actually finishing the film. The remake has some interesting people attached to it, and although I haven't seen all of the original movie, I'm curious to see what they'll do with the remake.
David Lowery's PETE'S DRAGON currently doesn't have a release date, but production on it will begin sometime this fall in New Zealand.
