Who better to play an old, lovable wood carver than America's sweetheart, Tom Hanks. As Disney continues truckin' forward in an effort to remake each and every one of their classic animated movies, Collider reports that Tom Hanks is in early talks to play Geppetto in a live-action adaptation of PINOCCHIO.
As most everyone knows, PINOCCHIO tells the story of a wooden puppet carved by Geppetto who is brought to life by a blue fairy and is told that if he proves himself to be brave, truthful, and unselfish, that he will become a real boy. Tom Hanks would obviously be a great fit for the role, but as talks are still in the early stages, don't start celebrating just yet. The film is slated to be directed by Paul King, who helmed the PADDINGTON movies, with King, Chris Weitz (CINDERELLA), and Simon Farnaby (PADDINGTON) behind the most recent draft of the script. The film isn't the only PINOCCHIO project in development at the moment as Guillermo del Toro is slated to direct a stop-motion animated adaptation for Netflix with Mark Gustafson (FANTASTIC MR. FOX). As is expected with del Toro, the film is said to take on a much darker tone than the Disney adaptation.
Tom Hanks will next be seen in GREYHOUND on March 22, 2019, a World War II drama which centers on an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by Captain Krause (Hanks) in his first command of a U.S. destroyer, while hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi U-boats. Next up will be TOY STORY 4 on June 21, 2019 and YOU ARE MY FRIEND, in which he plays Mr. Rogers, on October 18, 2019.
