Tom Hanks’ ‘Pinocchio’ movie adds Luke Evans

PTI, Jan 27, 2021, 12:28 PM IST

Los Angeles: Welsh actor Luke Evans has boarded the cast of Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of “Pinocchio”.

Evans, known for starring in “Fast and Furious” series and “Beauty and the Beast”, will star alongside Hollywood veteran Tom Hanks, who will play Geppetto in the movie, reported Deadline.

Robert Zemeckis, who previously worked with Hanks on critically-acclaimed features such as “Forrest Gump”, “Cast Away” and “Polar Express”, will helm the project.

Chris Weitz has written the script with Zemeckis. The writer will also produce the film with Andrew Miano through their company Depth of Field.

Disney”s original film, which released in 1940, was based on the 1883 Italian children”s novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi.

The animated feature centres on a wood-carver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet brought to life by a fairy and told him that he will become a real boy if he proves himself to be “brave, truthful, and unselfish”.

The project is the latest in a long line of Disney”s live-action remakes of its animated movies such as “Aladdin”, “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King”.

Evans recently completed filming for Hulu’s mini-series “Nine Perfect Strangers” opposite Melissa McCarthy and Nicole Kidman.

He will also star in a prequel series to “Beauty and the Beast” along with Josh Gad. The show will debut on streamer Disney Plus.