Toni Servillo cast as Geppetto in latest Pinocchio project

Italian actor Toni Servillo is reuniting with his Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone for a new live-action adaptation of Pinocchio.
Garrone has penned his own take on the classic Carlo Collodi classic, which has been described as an “artisanal approach, blending prosthetics, special make-up and CGI (computer-generated imagery)”, and now he has cast The Great Beauty star Servillo to portray woodcarver Geppetto, the father of his puppet creation Pinocchio.
They last worked together on the critically-acclaimed 2008 mob movie Gomorrah.
Production on Pinocchio is expected to begin in Italy in the spring (17).
It’s one of three Pinocchio projects currently in the works – Disney bosses previously announced plans for a 3D animated version with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, while Ron Howard reportedly stepped in to replace Paul Thomas Anderson as the director of Robert Downey, Jr.’s upcoming live action remake.
Downey, Jr., who has been developing the adaptation for years, will tackle the role of Geppetto in a new Warner Bros. movie.