Fresh Prince and Oscar-nominated actor Will Smith may not see big-eared elephant fly after all. Talks of the Suicide Squad and Collateral Beauty star being set to appear in Disney’s Dumbo remake have quietly ceased.
Set to be directed by Tim Burton (Big Eyes) and written by Ehren Kruger (Transformers franchise), the upcoming live-action adaptation of Walt Disney’s 1941 animated classic would have had Smith play the father of a group of children that befriend the airborne baby circus elephant. Last month, fellow Oscar nominee Tom Hanks was reported to also be involved in talks to join the film as the film’s central villain. My guesses are either Hanks as a cruel mustache-twirling circus ringmaster or a hallucinogenic dancing pink elephant.
Dumbo is but one of the films on Walt Disney Pictures’ ever-growing list of animated features turned potential live-action films. Bill Condon’s Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, is due out in theaters March 17th. Other upcoming adaptions include Mulan, Aladdin, sequel to Jon Favreau’s surprise hit The Jungle Book, and the live-action The Lion King.
Dumbo‘s release date is yet to be announced by the studio.
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