Disney’s live-action The Sword in the Stone has a director.
And it’s none other than Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 50-year-old filmmaker is in talks to direct the upcoming live-action remake of the 1963 Disney classic, The Sword in the Stone.
“Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, perhaps best known for directing the zombie thriller 28 Weeks Later, is in negotiations to helm The Sword in the Stone, Disney’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s 1963 animated fantasy.”
Disney’s original The Sword in the Stone takes a light-hearted approach to a classic myth – the legend of King Arthur. It follows the story of young Arthur being mentored by the wizard Merlin… and it’s the last animated classic made before Walt Disney’s death in 1966.
But what does this mean for the live-action adaptation?
More importantly, will Disney be taking a grittier approach this time around?
Amazing, it looks as though that could be a possibility (even if it is a really long shot), as the studio has also tapped a Game of Thrones alumni to tackle the script.
“Bryan Cogman, a writer-producer on HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, wrote the script for the project, which is being produced by Brigham Taylor (The Jungle Book).”
Whether or not this means a Game of Thrones style approach to the legend of King Arthur remains to be seen… but I can’t help thinking it’s going to be far tamer than that. After all, it is still a Disney movie.
But this could be a grittier version in terms of visual tone, at least.
And that could be an interesting move, considering the director.
But for now, we’ll have to wait and see.