Disney has released the first image of Tom Hanks as Geppetto in Robert Zemeckis's upcoming live-action Pinocchio.
The movie is an adaptation of the animated Disney classic that tells the tale of a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy. Hanks will star as the wood-carver and 'father' to Pinocchio, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy, Keegan-Michael Key as 'Honest' John; Sopranos alum Lorraine Bracco as Sofia the Seagull, and Luke Evans as The Coachman. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who appeared in The Haunting of Bly Manor, provides the voice of Pinocchio.
Hanks, the voice of beloved cowboy Woody from Disney and Pixar's Toy Story, was reportedly approached for the role back in 2018.
Zemeckis wrote the script with fellow director Chris Weitz, the latter of whom wrote the screenplay for the 2015 live-action adaptation of Disney's Cinderella and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The two produced the film alongside Paul Weitz, Derek Hogue, and Andrew Miano, with Jackie Levine, Jack Rapke, Alexandra Derbyshire, and Jeremy Johns serving as executive producers.
Two Pinocchio movies are slated for release this year, the second being a stop-motion animation flick helmed by Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro's Pinocchio has no affiliation to the Disney character: the movie serves as an adaptation of the original 1881 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi. The film is set to premiere on Netflix in December 2022.
Pinocchio is headed to Disney Plus this September. For more, check out the best movies on Disney Plus.
