Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, perhaps best known for directing the zombie thriller 28 Weeks Later, is in negotiations to helm The Sword in the Stone, Disney’s live-action reimagining of the studio’s 1963 animated fantasy.
Bryan Cogman, a writer-producer on HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, wrote the script for the project, which is being produced by Brigham Taylor (The Jungle Book).
Sword in the Stone was the final movie released by the studio before Walt Disney’s death; it takes a lighthearted view of the legend of King Arthur, focusing on the young Arthur being mentored by the magician Merlin. It was loosely based on T.H. White’s novel of the same name, which later became part of White’s multibook Arthurian fantasy, The Once and Future King.
Sword in the Stone is the second Arthurian project Disney is developing, as it also is working on The Merlin Saga, with Ridley Scott circling the tale of the powerful wizard’s rise.
Louie Provost is overseeing Sword in the Stone for the studio.
Fresnadillo’s hiring points to the direction in which the remake will head. The filmmaker is known for his dark tones and helmed the 2011 horror movie Intruders as well as the pilots for the USA thriller Falling Water and CBS’ end-of-the-world drama Salvation.
Fresnadillo is repped by UTA.
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