Warner Bros. is committed to getting its new take on the classic Pinocchio story up and running. But though it has yet to convince Tim Burton and Robert Downey Jr.– who have been flirting with the idea of directing and starring since at least January – the studio is hoping that hiring Jane Goldman to rewrite the script will be all the incentive they need.
This latest version of Carlo Collodi’s tale would find lonely, childless wood carver Geppetto (Downey, assuming he signs on) making his puppet son-replacement as usual. But when Pinocchio heads off on his famous quest to become a real boy, Geppetto builds a suit of wooden armour, installs JARVIS and searches for... All right, no. He just goes looking for his wayward puppet product.
Bryan Fuller wrote the first draft of the script and now Goldman, who has worked on the likes of Stardust, The Woman In Black and X-Men: First Class is taking over writing duties. She’s apparently incorporating Downey Jr.’s notes in the hopes that this will convince him to jump aboard. Well, if any writer can convince someone to sign on, Goldman can.
But this still means the studio is no closer to getting started, and Guillermo del Toro has a healthy head start with producing his stop-motion version of the tale.