Disney is held up by several massive pillars at the moment. One of them isStar Wars, the second is Marvel and lately, one of their huge cash cows has been live-action adaptations of animated classics. That is something the Mouse House will be pursuing in the future and one of the projects they have on the burner is a live-action adaptation ofDumbofromdirector Tim Burton. In an interesting turn of events, it looks like Disney is trying to courtWill Smithto star in the movie.
Deadlineis reporting thatWill Smithis currently circling the lead role in the movie and that Disney is currently moving “aggressively” toward a production date. Assuming they can get theSuicide Squadstar to sign on the dotted line, production will probably ramp up fairly quickly.Tim Burtonhas been attached to the project for some time and given the success thatThe Jungle Bookenjoyed last year, it seems likely that Disney is very eager to get while the gettin' is good in terms of theselive-action remakes. At the moment, the studio is also working on live-action versions ofMulan,The Little Mermaida Cruella De Vil spinoff/prequel starringEmma Stoneand a “retelling” ofThe Lion Kingwhich will be done in the style ofThe Jungle Book, which also has a sequel in development.
Will Smith has always had a great sense of humor about the size of his ears, and has said before that Dumbo is one character he can identify with. That said, there is no mention of whom Will Smith may be playing in the movie, if he is playing a human character, or if he is indeed taking on the title role of elephant Dumbo via Motion Capture and CGI. Disney’s Jungle Book had a stellar line-up of big name actors playing all of the animals in that blockbuster, and Dumbo could certainly be following in its footsteps. On the other hand, Smith could also be playing a circus trainer or a human character involved in Dumbo’s life. That is a little murky at the moment.
Will Smithhas had something of a career resurgence over the past couple of years, but his new efforts are still struggling in a lot of ways. His latest,Collateral Beauty, certainly hasn’t done very well with critics, to say the least and it definitely wasn’t the box office success that Warner Bros. was hoping it would be. To date, it has made $60 million worldwide from a $36 million budget. On the flipside, despite terrible reviews,Suicide Squadwas one of the most successful movies of 2016 and grossed $745 million worldwide. Going back to 2015,Concussion, though not a big money maker, was critically well-liked and many feltWill Smithdeserved an Oscar nomination. So, in a lot of waysWill Smithis back and Disney wants in on it.
That could be problematic in terms of scheduling, though. Currently,Will Smithis filming theMax LandiswrittenBrightwith directorDavid Ayerfor Netflix. He is also gearing up to shootBad Boys 3for Sony, so he is definitely busy.Tim Burtonhas had mixed results with his last few movies, but his live-action take onAlice in Wonderlandback in 2010 grossed more than $1 billion worldwide for Disney and helped set up this run of very successful live-action adaptations. With that, they are probably eager and confident to get his take onDumbogoing. We don’t know anything about his potential role, but with a star likeWill Smith, it could only benefit the appeal of the movie.
Will Smithis definitely an in-demand star again, but he comes at a high price. Forbes recently named him the second most overpaid actor in Hollywood, bringing in just $5 at the box office for every $1 he is paid. But Disney apparently thinks he is worth it. At the moment, there is no release date set for theDumbo live-action movie, but it is going to be based on the 1941 animated featured and has a script fromEhren Kruger, who wrote Who wrote the last threeTransformersmovies prior to the upcomingTransformers: The Last Knight. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more information becomes available.
