Ever since Disney announced that there would be a live-action adaptation of their 1940’s animated feature Pinocchio, they haven’t been able to lock down a director. Sam Mendes (Skyfall) and Paul King (Paddington) are among the two directors that departed from the project for their own reasons, but it looks like the studio may have finally found someone to fill the spot. According to new reports, Robert Zemeckis is in talks to helm the project. More on the report below.

Variety says that Zemeckis is in early talks to direct the film, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your point of view. His last feature, which also happened to deal with humans and dolls, Welcome To Marwen, wasn’t well-received by critics. Additionally, Pinocchio may not be going into production any time soon as Zemeckis is currently caught up with directing a remake of The Witches.

It has been a while since Zemeckis has directed a Disney flick. His most recent one, A Christmas Carol, was when he was riding that motion-capture wave. Of course, many of those films didn’t quite reflect on any of his previous works. So it should be interesting what vision he would have for Pinocchio, should he sign on to direct. Oddly enough, Tom Hanks, a frequent collaborator of Zemeckis’, was attached to play as Gepetto. However, that fell through.

As for the other behind the scenes details, Chris Weitz and Simon Farnaby wrote the most recent draft of the script. Weitz and Andrew Miano will produce. Originally, David Heyman was supposed to produce the film under his banner, but he too stepped away after King departed the project.

Based on the 1940 animated feature of the same name, Pinocchio centers on a wooden puppet that has been turned into a living being, who must prove that he is worthy of becoming a boy that is of flesh and blood.

Pinocchio is only one of a large number of animated features to be turned into live-action films. Other upcoming ones include Mulan, Cruella, The Little Mermaid, The Sword In The Stone, Hunchback, and Rose Red. Though many of the previous live-action adaptations have been box office hits, they pale in comparison to their animated counterparts. So there has yet to be a film that is both a box office smash and a hit with critics. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen.

[Source: Variety]