Disney Eyes Director for Live-Action ‘Sword in the Stone’ Remake

Disney is in talks with director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to helm its live-action reimagining of the 1963 animated movie “The Sword in the Stone.”

Fresnadillo, a native of Spain, directed 2002’s “Intacto” as his first full-length feature, followed by the 2006 zombie thriller “28 Weeks Later,” the sequel to Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later.” He also directed the 2011 horror movie “Intruders,” starring Clive Owen and Daniel Bruhl.

“The Sword in the Stone” has been in development at Disney since 2015 when “Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman was attached to write the script with Brigham Taylor producing. Louie Provost is overseeing “The Sword in the Stone” for the studio.

The original movie was based loosely on T.H. White’s novel of the same name, in which a 12-year-old orphan named Arthur became king after removing a sword from an anvil in London. It was a box office success with $22 million on a $3 million budget. It was also the final animated Disney film to be released prior to Walt Disney’s death in 1966.

Disney has been highly successful with live-action versions of its animated titles, including “Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent,” “Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Disney set a live-action version of “Mulan” for November and has three live-action reimaginings set for 2019 with “Dumbo,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.”

Fresnadillo is repped by UTA.

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