Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket leads casting news for Disney's Luke Evans was recently added in the role of The Coachman.
Disney's remake is in pre-production at the same time as Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's own version of the classic tale. His long-gestating Pinocchio was picked up at Netflix in 2018, and will tell the story using stop-motion animation. The cast for Del Toro's Pinocchio includes Ewan McGregor as Jiminy Cricket, who has hinted he'll be tackling the iconic track "When You Wish Up A Star" as part of his role. Disney has chosen to skew a little younger with their casting for the role, announcing who will be playing Jiminy Cricket among a number of other casting announcements.
THR reports Disney has cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket, also adding Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Bad Times at the El Royale) as the Blue Fairy, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth (Flora and Ulysses) as the voice of Pinocchio, Keegan Michael-Key (Key & Peele, Toy Story 4) as Honest John, and Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie) as a new character called Sofia the Seagull. The report also reveals production on the movie will begin in the UK this month, which explains why so many cast have been announced in one go.
Gordon-Levitt is the biggest draw here, and his role follows up a 2020 that was something of a return to the limelight for the actor, after appearing in two major Netflix movies - Project Power and The Trial of the Chicago 7. The rest of the actors are all well-known names too, and their roles hint they'll be doing a combination of voice acting and motion capture performance. This lines up with the announcement video for the Pinocchio remake, which revealed a cartoon-accurate design.
It's a stellar cast for the movie, which is a little surprising given it will skip theaters and release straight to Disney+. But Disney has proven over the past year that their streaming service is a central part of their content plans going forward, releasing the likes of Mulan, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Soul on Disney+. Pinocchio's large and high-profile ensemble cast is further proof of their commitment to the service, as they're clearly not cutting corners as far as budget is concerned. There is no release date yet, but with production imminent, a 2022 release seems like a good bet at this point.
Source: THR
