Tom McCarthy, who won a 2016 Oscar for writing Spotlight with Josh Singer, will be re-writing Disney’s Christopher Robin, according to The Tracking Board. He is also currently working on Netflix’s new show 13 Reasons Why which recently released its first trailer online. Disney hired independent filmmaker Alex Ross to write the original draft of the latest live action Disney film, based on the famous human boy from Winnie the Pooh.
Marc Foster, known for his work on Finding Neverland, has been hired to direct the film, with Brigham Taylor producing. Taylor also worked on Disney’s live action version of The Jungle Book, released last year. Kristin Burr, an executive for Disney who has worked on Ice Princess and Freaky Friday, will be overseeing the project.
Actors have not yet been cast, but according to The Tracking Board, Disney is aiming high in terms of all-star talent for the film.
The film will be a sequel of sorts to A.A. Milne’s books, depicting Christopher Robin as an overworked adult without time for his family or the imagination of his youth. But when Winnie the Pooh reenters Christopher’s life he’s given a second chance to set his priorities straight and reconnect with his family and his past. It has the potential to be an extremely heartwarming, magical story about the difficulties of growing up.
This will come at a time when Disney seems to be releasing live action films one after the other, with the production of a live action Mulan also being announced recently.