Sam Mendes drops out of directing Disney’s live-action Pinocchio

Back in May, it was reported that Sam Mendes (SPECTRE) was in early talks to direct Disney's live-action adaption of PINOCCHIO, but now, it seems that Disney will have to look elsewhere for someone to put their live-action spin on the little wooden puppet who longs to be a real boy.

Per Jeff Sneider‏ of The Tracking Board, Sam Mendes has now dropped out of the project, leaving Disney looking for another director. As Mendes hadn't actually officially attached himself to PINOCCHIO, this news shouldn't come as a huge shock, and in fact, it's not the first time that Mendes has been attached to a Disney flick before dropping it; Last year he was also in early talks to direct a live-action remake of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, but later exited the project. I can't imagine that Disney will have much trouble finding a replacement, but this begs the question of why Sam Mendes decided to move on. Of course it's entirely possible that he simply wasn't feeling the project and didn't want to devote years of his life to it, but, and this is pure speculation, his exit does open up the possibility that he could reteam with Daniel Craig one last time for the upcoming James Bond film which is currently without a director.

Another project which Sam Mendes was circling earlier this year was an adaptation of "My Favorite Thing is Monsters," a graphic-novel by Emil Ferris which takes the form of a fictional graphic diary and follows a 10-year-old girl in 1960's Chicago as she attempts to solve the murder of her upstairs neighbour. No word on whether he's still interested in that particular project.