"Paddington 2" director bringing live-action "Pinocchio" to life

The live-action "Pinocchio" has finally found another director.

21 Feb – Walt Disney Studios has picked Paul King as the director for its upcoming live-action adaptation of "Pinocchio".

King, who helmed last year's "Paddington 2" as well as its 2014 predecessor, will be directing from a script rewritten by "Wonder" scribe Jack Thorne, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Depth of Field's Chris Weitz and Andrew Miano will be producing the upcoming movie.

Academy Award-winning Sam Mendes was originally attached to direct but he ended up leaving the project last year.

Paul King has now stepped in to direct Disney's upcoming live-action "Pinocchio" (Photo source: DIY Mag).

Disney's original "Pinocchio" was the second animated film to be made by the studio, released in 1940 after "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves".

An adaption of the Italian fairy tale written by Carlo Collobi, the story follows a wooden puppet boy crafted by an old puppet maker named Geppetto. The puppet later wishes to be turned into a real boy and a fairy vows to only grant that wish if the puppet demonstrated an act of bravery.

There have been other live-action variations of "Pinocchio" such as the one in 1996 by New Line Cinema, "The Adventures of Pinocchio" starring Martin Landau and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and the latest one from 2015 that was directed by Stepán Gajdos.

Disney's live-action "Pinocchio" is expected to begin filming this fall.