According to The Wrap, Academy Award-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) has officially signed on to star in Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming live-action film adaptation of Pinocchio, based on the classic children’s tale by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Erivo is set to portray the role of the Blue Fairy, who is described as a magical being that granted Geppeto’s wish to turn the titular puppet into a real boy. She will also be serving as a companion to Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket.
In addition, Deadline also brings word that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, Keegan Michael-Key, and Lorraine Bracco have also been added to the cast. Gordon-Levitt and Ainsworth will be lending their voices to Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio, respectively. While Key will be voicing the character of Honest John with Bracco playing Sofia the Seagull, a new character made just for the live-action film.
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The original Pinocchio, based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, first debuted in theaters in 1940 and won two Academy Awards. In the 1940 Disney-animated film Pinocchio, the lead role was voiced by Dickie Jones, Jiminy Cricket by Cliff Edwards, and Master Geppetto by Christian Rubb.
The film adaptation of Pinocchio will center on the wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a “real boy,” and the relationship between a father and son, the ramifications of lying and creating stories and living in a fantasy world. It will be led by Oscar winner Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Luke Evans as the villain, Pleasure Island owner and operator The Coachman.
The live-action film will be directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay he co-wrote with Chris Weitz. It is set to premiere directly to Disney+.
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Zemeckis and Hanks’ collaborative partnership goes back to the latter’s second-consecutive Oscar-winning turn in Forrest Gump and would later reunite on Cast Away, which netted Hanks another Oscar nom and a Golden Globe win, followed by the Christmas cult classic The Polar Express. The project is set to be produced by Weitz and Andrew Miano via their Depth of Field production banner.
(Photo by Leon Bennett/WireImage via Getty Images & Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
