American filmmaker Robert Zemeckis is in early talks to direct Disneys upcoming live-action "Pinocchio".

Andrew Miano and Chris Weitz will produce the project through their company Depth of Field with Weitz penning the script, reports variety.com.

"Paddington" director Paul King had originally been tapped to direct but had to leave the project for unknown reasons at the beginning of the year. David Heyman, who was on board to produce, is also no longer involved with the film.

Though a deal hasn't closed yet, Zemeckis has been eyeing the project for long. At that time, he was working on "The Witches" for Warner Bros and didn't want to commit to a new film until "The Witches" made more progress in production.

Since the film is now in post-production, Zemeckis has turned his focus on looking for his next project, and "Pinocchio" is on top of his list.

After the deal is signed, Zemeckis will start the casting process. Andrew Miano and Chris Weitz are producing. King, Weitz and Simon Farnaby have written the most recent draft of the project.

The original animated movie tells the tale of a living puppet who, with the help of a cricket as his conscience, must prove himself worthy to become a real boy.

In recent years, Zemeckis has been more focused on dramas like "Flight", "Allied" and "Welcome to Marwen". He started to come back to family-friendly films with "Back to the Future", and the Warner Bros' adaptation of "The Witches", which stars Anne Hathaway.