This is one Disney live-action remake I didn’t see coming.
The House of Mouse has acquired BEANSTALK, an update of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, which they previously tackled with Mickey in the title role back in ’47.
But that’s not what’s crazy. What’s crazy is that they have a “detailed outline” by BREAKING BAD/BETTER CALL SAUL creator Vince Gilligan. Crazier still, is that Gilligan is on the shortlist of possible directors, and is set to produce.
Don’t panic that he’s not writing the full script (at this stage, anyway): he’s siccing two-time Emmy-winner Thomas Schnauz on the actual scripting duties. What’d he win those Emmys for? Why, BREAKING BAD, of course (he also received a nomination for S05 E07 of the show, named for the signature catchphrase it introduced: “Say My Name”). In all, he’s received writing credits on 7 eps of BAD and 2 on BETTER CALL SAUL.
So yeah. The JACK AND THE BEANSTALK tale told through the prism of two of the best dramas in cable history. Don’t know what exactly that means, or if Disney thinks that the cost of handing this flick to a relatively unproven feature director outweighs the benefit of touting BREAKING BAD’S VINCE GILLIGAN as the helmer of this flick. But it certainly gets the imagination working.
Two things to remember: Bryan Singer’s JACK THE GIANT SLAYER came and went without much fanfare two years back, and Vince Gilligan’s writing credits also include HANCOCK and HOME FRIES. So this isn’t any kind of rock-solid, bet-the-farm-on-it type of project by any means. Still, I can’t help but wonder what Gilligan would do with a sandbox of this size, and how he would adapt his dark, sly humor into a literally large-scaled effects-driven flick such as this.
What’re your hopes for JACK AND THE GIANT SLAYER as told by the creator of BREAKING BAD?
