Disney’s Live-Action ‘Pinocchio’ Loses Director Sam Mendes
Disney’s new mission to remake their entire animated canon in live-action keeps on trucking forward, but one project is moving a little more slowly than others. The live-action take onPinocchiohas lost Academy Award winnerSam Mendes,who was reported to be taking the director’s seat earlier this year.
Word comes fromThe Tracking Board, who reports that Mendes has left the project while he was still in “early talks.” The film is still in development with a screenplay byRogue One: A Star Wars Storywriter Chris Weitz (himself an Oscar nominee forAbout a Boy), who is also producing.
Weep not for Disney, though. It’s not like they need your tears. They’ll find another live-actionPinocchiodirector soon enough. In the meantime, Jon Favreau’s kind-of, sort-of live-action take onThe Lion Kingis in the pipeline, and the company is still swimming in Scrooge McDuck-style vaults ofBeauty and the Beastmoney from earlier this year.
Mendes made his feature film debut with 1999’sAmerican Beauty, which won him the Best Director statuette at the Academy Awards. He followed it up with (the superior!)Road to Perdition, (the underrated!)Jarhead, (the shrug-worthy!)Revolutionary Road, and (the very nice!)Away We Go. However, he reinvented himself as a maker of exceptional studio fare withSkyfall, one of the best Bond films, before stumbling a bit withSpectre, one of the more forgettable Bond films.
In other words, he’s the exact kind of talent you see Disney recruiting for their live-action movies these days: dependable, sturdy, respected, and comfortable with large budgets. Expect his replacement to come from a similar background.
Of course, the critical missing detail here iswhyMendes stepped away fromPinocchio. Could it be as simple as him not wanting to dedicate several years of his life to the film? Or could we read a little deeper and wonder if he’s planning to re-team with Daniel Craig, assume control of the director-less James Bond 25, and atone for the sins ofSpectre? That’s pure speculation, but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
In the meantime, another version ofPinocchiois currently in the works at Warner Bros., but it’s been awfully silent. At one point, Robert Downey Jr. was going to star, and Paul Thomas Anderson (!)was being courted to direct. And then Ron Howard took over. And then we heard nothing.
In any case, it’s clear that Disney is not in a rush to getPinocchiomade. This remake was first announced back in 2015, and it’s going to be a few years more at the very least. We’ll let you know if anything changes.
