10 Upcoming Movies You Won't Believe Actually Got Made
5. Pinocchio
The Pitch: A live-action adaptation of the original Pinocchio story, starring Roberto Benigni as Geppetto and directed by acclaimed Italian art-house filmmaker Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah, Dogman).
There are numerous Pinocchio movies in development right now, but this one is by far the most peculiar - and also the most interesting.
Garrone, best known for his blackly comic dramas, is a left-field choice to direct a story remembered for its spritely Disney adaptation, as his take will clearly be aiming for a more gritty, grounded and "realistic" style.
But what's truly galling about this Pinocchio is the casting of Benigni. After all, the actor famously directed his own disastrous Pinocchio movie in 2002, where he misguidedly cast his 49-year-old self in the title role.
The creepy misfire of an end result effectively killed Benigni's mainstream popularity, so he's presumably hoping that a director of Garrone's calibre might allow him to deliver something of a cinematic apology to audiences.
In the very least, a now mid-sixities Benigni is certainly well-suited to the role of Geppetto, and given Garrone's tendency towards storytelling both imaginative and bleak, this should be like no Pinocchio story audiences have ever seen.
Pinocchio is currently wrapping up shooting, though given that Garrone's three previous movies all premiered at Cannes, it's likely the film won't debut until over a year from now.