Disney’s quest to develop a live-action re-imagining of their animated classic about a young King Arthur just passed a milestone. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is currently in talks with Walt Disney Pictures to sit in the director’s chair, or throne as the case may be, for the upcoming project.
The script, penned by Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), will be a retelling of the beloved 1963 Disney animated feature that follows Arthur as a boy under the tutelage of the wizard Merlin. The original film loosely followed the T.H. White novel The Sword in the Stone, part of his Arthurian tetralogy The Once and Future King. The Sword in the Stone won’t be the only film in the near future to feature the famous magician Merlin; Disney is also at work on The Merlin Saga, and look to be in talks with Ridley Scott for that project.
Fresnadillo’s most recognizable work was the 2007 zombie thriller 28 Weeks Later. Exactly how much the darker tones of his previous work will influence this live-action adaptation is up for speculation.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: The Sword in the Stone (1963), Walt Disney Productions
