Continuing their strategy of reimagining animated classics into live-action movies, Disney is developing a Sword in the Stone movie and it looks like they may have found their director. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks with Disney to helm its live-action reimagining of the 1963 animated movie.
The filmmakers credits include, directing 2002’s “Intacto” as his first full-length feature and the 2011 horror movie “Intruders”, but the native of Spain is perhaps best known for directing the zombie thriller “28 Weeks Later”.
The Sword in the Stone remake has been in development since 2015. Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman has been attached to write the script and Brigham Taylor will produce.
The original animated version was based loosely on T.H. White’s novel of the same name, eventually becoming became part of the author’s multi-book King Arthur fantasy, “The Once and Future King.”
The 1963 animated flic followed Arthur, a 12-year-old orphan, who became king after removing a sword from an anvil in London. The movie was a box office success and brought in $22 million after being made on a $3 million budget. This was the last animated Disney film to be released prior to Walt Disney’s death in 1966.
Live-action remakes have been hugely successful for Disney. They’ve created live-action versions of its animated titles, including “Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent,” “Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Disney is also set a live-action version of “Mulan” for November and has three live-action reimaginings set for 2019 with “Dumbo,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”