Dumbo live-action remake flying towards 2019

We’ll be seeing Tim Burton’s take on Dumbo sooner than you think. Disney has been slowing assembling a team to bring back its beloved flying elephant for the past few years. But during Saturday’s presentations at the D23 Expo in California, the Mouse House announced Dumbo is now scheduled for release on March 29, 2019.

Furthermore, production has already begun in London with Burton helming a cast that includes Colin Farrell and veterans of the filmmaker Eva Green (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children), Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), and Danny DeVito (Batman Returns).

Word in the past was that Will Smith was reportedly being considered for a role, but he will not in fact feature in the ensemble cast. Instead, Disney officially confirmed him for a role in the live-action Aladdin remake with Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Mena Massoud as the titular street rat.

See the first image from Dumbo‘s production below.

Dumbo is one of the new projects to join Disney’s latest wave of animated-to-live-action films. Fans have already seen versions for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (as Maleficent), The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and Alice in Wonderland. Mulan and The Lion King are also coming in the years ahead.