‘Paddington’ Director Paul King Exits Disney’s Live-Action ‘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:

“[King] basically pulled out of the film for family reasons. Disney are trying to find a new director, but yeah, I read those reports about Tom Hanks…and these other people. They’re trying to get it going, but I’m unlikely to be involved now because Paul King…wanted me to be his DP on the film and who knows the director that they eventually bring on…and it probably will be delayed by some time now — it probably won’t shoot until July or August, if it does at all.”

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.