Jan 16, 2019

"Paddington" director Paul King drops Disney's live-action film "Pinocchio"

Paul King will no longer direct Disney's live-action remake of its iconic cartoon classic Pinocchio. The news of King's departure was first revealed by cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, who was expected to be the DP on the film.

King was tapped for the Disney project last year after his successes with the Paddington hybrid franchise. The two British Paddington productions, which debuted internationally in 2014 and 2017 respectively, grossed nearly $500 million worldwide.

In an audio interview published last Sunday by Discussing Film, McGarvey said, “I don't think it's a secret anymore, but the film has been cancelled over the holidays, over Christmas.”

McGarvey further explained:

Disney has not made any comments about the future of its Pinocchio remake.

King was the second director to sign on for Pinocchio only to leave the project before it started production. The first director, Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall), left the project in 2017.

Meanwhile, Netflix is moving forward with production on its stop-motion musical version of Pinocchio, which will mark the feature animation directorial debut of Guillermo del Toro.