Del Toro’s Pinocchio Announces Cast: McGregor, Bradley, Blanchett, Swinton & More

Netflix just announced the cast for Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming adaptation of Pinocchio.

If you weren’t already excited for this collaboration – and really, how could you not be? – this cast will win you over.

David Bradley (Game of Thrones, Harry Potter) stars as Geppetto. Ewan McGregor plays Cricket. Additionally, newcomer Gregory Mann takes on the title role of Pinocchio.

A ton of other names join the project in yet unspecified roles, including Academy Award winners Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett, and Christoph Waltz. Other cast members include John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, Burn Gorman. Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard will also star.

Pinocchio follows the journey of a wooden boy magically brought to life by his father’s wish. Del Toro’s stop-motion animated musical will put a new spin on the tale, setting the story during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy. It promises to explore “a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father’s expectations.”

Creating Pinocchio

Del Toro is deeply involved in the film. Which he co-wrote with Patrick McHale. He also directed Pinocchio and helped write the song lyrics. Mark Gustafson (Fantastic Mr. Fox) co-directed the film. In addition, former del Toro collaborator and Academy Award winner Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) composed the score.

Gris Grimly created the original design for the Pinocchio character. Mackinnon and Saunders (Corpse Bride) built the film’s puppets.

Del Toro described Pinocchio as his dream project.

“After years of pursuing this dream project, I found my perfect partner in Netflix. We have spent a long time curating a remarkable cast and crew and have been blessed by continuous support from Netflix to quietly and carefully soldier on, barely missing a beat. We all love and practice animation with great passion and believe it to be the ideal medium to retell this classic story in a completely new way,” said del Toro.

Until Pinocchio hits Netflix, check back here for more updates on del Toro’s latest projects.

Source: Netflix