Guillermo Del Toro No Longer Doing Pinocchio

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio project is now officially dead and that’s according to the “Shape of Water” director himself.

Back in 2013, Del Toro teased that he would be doing a Pinocchio story written by Gris Grimly. But alas this will never happen anymore.

In an interview with IGN for Shape of Water, he said:

It’s not happening. But the idea was to do Pinocchio during the ascension of fascism in Italy, with Mussolini. It was a good time to discuss the idea of being a puppet or being a human, but you know, it’s not in progress

Grimsly also cites the failure of Frankenweenie in the box office as a reason the dark and twisted Pinocchio movie won’t happen. He states:

Short to the point update on Pinocchio for those inquiring: It appears that this is not the right time for such a superior-adventurous flick,

Another factor as to why we may never see Del Toro’s vision of the puppet who became a boy was his health and age.

I’m 53, I want to not know what I’m doing next, it’s like a privilege,” del Toro said. “That’s why I’m taking the year off, as a director to really think about what I’m doing next. All of those projects, some of them happen and some of them don’t. The natural state of a movie is not to happen. That’s the reality.

Too bad too because his Pinocchio would have been set in a time of turmoil, particularly In Italy during the rise of Mussolini and his fascist regime.

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