The Haunting of Bly Manor actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth to voice Pinocchio in Disney's live-action adaptation

Child actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, known for The Haunting of Bly Manor and Flora and Ulysses, has been tapped to voice the title character of Pinocchio in Disney’s live-action feature adaptation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oscar-nominated actor Cynthia Erivo will play the Blue Fairy and Emmy winner Joseph Gordon-Levitt will essay the role of the wisecracking Jiminy Cricket. The trio join Tom Hanks, who is playing Geppetto the woodcarver, and has been associated with the long-gestating project since 2018. Academy Award-winning veteran filmmaker Robert Zemeckis will direct from a new draft of the screenplay he co-wrote with Chris Weitz. The project marks the reunion of Zemeckis and Gordon-Levitt after the 2015 biographical drama The Walk. Dolemite Is My Name star Keegan-Michael Key voice features as the con-artist fox Honest John, with The Sopranos alum Lorraine Bracco lending her voice for Sofia the Seagull, a new character. The original animated movie, which released in 1940, revolves around Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy. The modern take, a combination of live-action and heavy visual effects, will begin production this month in the UK and will debut on Disney Plus, the streamer platform from the studio. Andrew Miano and Weitz are producing through their company Depth of Field along with Zemeckis’ Imagemovers.