Will Smith may team with Tim Burton for the live action Dumbo movie
Tim Burton may have found a star for his upcoming live action Dumbo movie. Deadline is reporting that Will Smith is in talks for a leading role in the big-screen take on the Disney animated classic. It is unknown what role Smith might be playing or even how similar the live action Dumbo‘s narrative will be to the original.
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Dumbo, released in 1941, marked Disney’s fourth full-length animated feature and told the story of a young circus elephant who, mocked for his enormous ears, discovers that he can actually use them to fly. The new film, which is planned to blend CGI and live-action, will feature a screenplay by Transformers scribe Ehren Kruger.
Disney has been finding quite a bit of success lately with live action takes on their classic films. Burton’s own Alice in Wonderland took in more than a billion at the international box office with the studio’s most recent live action adaptation, Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, having brought in more than $966 million. Next up is the highly-anticipated Beauty and the Beast, set to arrive in theaters March 17.
Will Smith recently starred in the DC Comics ensemble Suicide Squad, playing the part of Deadshot. The star is currently reteaming with Suicide Squad director David Ayer for Bright. Likened to Ayer’s own End of Watch, Bright takes place in a contemporary fantasy realm and follows a cop (Smith) and his Orc partner (Joel Edgerton).
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Who do you think Will Smith might be playing in the live action Dumbo? Are you looking forward to the film? Let us know in the comments below!
(Photo Credit: WENN.com)
