Boy oh boy, Disney sure does love America's sweetheart, Tom Hanks, don't they? According to a new report from Deadline, Hanks is in early negotiations to play Geppetto in Disney's live-action retelling of PINOCCHIO. The redux of Disney's 1940 animated classic will be directed by Robert Zemeckis, and will once again tell the tale of a living puppet, who with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.
In Disney's cautionary tale, Geppetto is a kindly, old woodcarver and the creator of Pinocchio. Before he carves Pinocchio out of the finest wood in his shop, Geppetto is seen living alone with his kitten Figaro and goldfish Cleo. More than anything, Geppetto wants a son to call his very own. After crafting the young boy with care, Geppetto wishes for his creation to come to life. That wish is then granted by the Blue Fairy.
Per Deadline, insiders say that Hanks is still in the very early stages of negotiating for the role. That said, it's been noted that Hanks has personally reached out to Zemeckis to let him know that he's interested in the part. Joining Zemeckis for the effort are Andrew Miano and Chris Weitz as producers through their Depth of Field studio, with Weitz penning the script.
Up next for Disney on the live-action front is director Niki Caro's MULAN, which just yesterday was said to be premiering on Disney+, but the privilege of watching it will cost you $29.99. To clarify, Insider is reporting that once the film is unlocked, it remains available for as long as you're a subscriber.
MULAN will be available to Disney+ customers in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and many Western European countries on September 4th, but it will also debut in cinemas on the same date in territories that don't have access to the streaming service. "Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we’ve continued to build on the incredible success of Disney+ as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses," Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement. "The global reach of our full portfolio of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds an astounding 100 million paid subscriptions — a significant milestone and a reaffirmation of our DTC strategy, which we view as key to the future growth of our company." Chapek added that this PVOD release of MULAN is intended to be a "one-off" rather than a new method of releasing for Disney, but I suppose that all depends on how well this works out for the studio. Could BLACK WIDOW be next? Disney says no but I'd be lying if I said that I believe them. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, as this pandemic ain't ending anytime soon.