Ben Stiller Might Direct ‘Pinocchio’ Starring Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr. revealed that Ben Stiller might direct the upcoming live-action version of Pinocchio.

Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton and the Iron Man star were originally going to tackle the project together. While it appeared that the film was moving forward over at Warner Bros., apparently some changes were going down behind-the-scenes.

Robert Downey Jr. recently discussed the project while promoting Iron Man 3 in Italy. The actor’s comments suggest that Burton is no longer attached to direct Pinocchio. Instead, Downey Jr. said he would like to work with Ben Stiller on the movie.

The news of Stiller’s involvement comes courtesy of the folks at Sky Cine News. However, the folks at Bleeding Cool were cool enough to properly translate what Robert Downey Jr. said about his version of Pinocchio.

The actor explained:

“I want to make ‘Pinocchio’ as a live action film and not resorting to animation. I would like to do with Ben Stiller that sounds perfect to get into the story and then saw where it was written, I’d like it to be shot as much as possible in Italy, I think it is also a matter of consistency.”

Of course, there’s always the chance that Robert Downey Jr. was simply thinking out loud. However, it would be interesting to see what Ben Stiller would do with the Pinocchio story.

The Inquisitr reported last November that the script was being rewritten by Kick-Ass scribe Jane Goldman. It’s currently unknown if she is still attached to the project.

The Tropic Thunder director recently debuted footage of his upcoming comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty at CinemaCon. Ben Stiller stars as a photographer who goes searching for a missing piece of film. The movie is scheduled to open in theaters on Christmas Day.

Are you a fan of Ben Stiller? Do you think he is the right director to tackle Robert Downey Jr.’s Pinocchio project?

[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]