Sam Mendes in talks to direct James and the Giant Peach for Disney

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

At this point I'm convinced that Disney is just going to remake everything and, despite our grumblings, will make a trillion dollars in the process. The next project on Disney's remake block will be a new re-imagining of Roald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach," which was previously adapted by Henry Selick for Disney in the live-action/animated hybrid of the same name back in 1996.

Deadline reports that Sam Mendes (SPECTRE) is currently in early talks to develop and direct JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. Much like the rest of Disney's recent remakes, this one will do away with the animated segments and be an entirely live-action affair. Talks are still in the very early stages, but should Mendes officially sign on, I'd imagine that it'd be quite the refresher after coming off back-to-back James Bond films. Nick Hornby (BROOKLYN) is also in early talks to pen the screenplay.

A synopsis of "James and the Giant Peach" via Amazon:

When poor James Henry Trotter loses his parents in a horrible rhinoceros accident, he is forced to live with his two wicked aunts, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. After three years he becomes "the saddest and loneliest boy you could find." Then one day, a wizened old man in a dark-green suit gives James a bag of magic crystals that promise to reverse his misery forever. When James accidentally spills the crystals on his aunts' withered peach tree, he sets the adventure in motion. From the old tree a single peach grows, and grows, and grows some more, until finally James climbs inside the giant fruit and rolls away from his despicable aunts to a whole new life. James befriends an assortment of hilarious characters, including Grasshopper, Earthworm, Miss Spider, and Centipede–each with his or her own song to sing.