Disney has been taking two approaches with the live action remakes of its classic animated movies. The first is faithfully re-telling the story and only changing a few things here and there, like how Beauty and the Beast was handled. The second is going for dramatically different interpretations, like what Maleficent was for Sleeping Beauty. For the upcoming live action Winnie the Pooh movie, Disney is going the latter route by having the 100 Acre Wood denizens reunite with Christopher Robin as an adult. Now there's word that Ewan McGregor might be the one playing the grown-up Christopher.
Fresh off playing Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Ewan McGregor is now in talks to play Christopher Robin in his upcoming namesake movie. In this story, McGregor's Christopher has grown up to be a successful businessman, but has subsequently lost his sense of imagination and has been prioritizing his work over his wife and daughter. His life will be thrown for a loop when Winnie the Pooh and his fellow animal friends return. Basically, this movie sounds like the classic Winnie the Pooh tales mixed with Hook. Along with the McGregor news, THR also mentioned that Hidden Figures screenwriter Allison Schroeder will pen the latest draft of the script, which was originally written by Alex Ross Perry and later worked on by Tom McCarthy.
Aside from Beauty and the Beast, and to a lesser extent the Star Wars prequel movies, Ewan McGregor doesn't have much experience starring in projects that can be seen by the whole family. His recent credits include August: Osage County, American Pastoral, Jane Got a Gun and T2 Trainspotting, all of which fall into PG-13 or R territory. He can currently be seen as Emmit and Ray Stussy in Fargo Season 3. If a deal is finalized, starring in Christopher Robin would be a good way for him to get some exposure with younger moviegoers following his tenure as a walking and talking candelabra.
Until now, Disney's Winnie the Pooh theatrical projects have all been traditionally animated. The last theatrical movie, simply titled Winnie the Pooh, was released in 2011 and earned mostly positive reviews. As mentioned earlier, Christopher Robin will allow the Disney to take this property and adapt in a way never done before in the company while ideally staying true to the spirit of these characters. It's also worth noting that there is a separate movie coming out later this year called Goodbye Christopher Robin, which stars stars Domhnall Gleeson and Margot Robbie, and will be about how author A.A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh.
Directed by Quantum of Solace's Marc Forster, Christopher Robin doesn't have a release date assigned yet, but it's one of the many Disney remakes coming in the near future. Don't forget to check out the full schedule of Disney's other upcoming releases.
