Oakes Fegley eyed up for Pinocchio role

Oakes Fegley is being eyed for a role in the 'Pinocchio' remake.

Disney reportedly want to cast the 16-year-old actor as Lampwick in Robert Zemeckis' new live-action version of the classic tale about a wooden puppet brought to life, according to The Illuminerdi.

Lampwick is a supporting character and a rascal of a boy who teases and ridicules Pinocchio, with a fondness for leaving wreckage in his wake - and who embraces the activities on Pleasure Island until he learns the sinister truth about the supposed paradise for scoundrels.

Oakes has previously appeared in movies such as 'Pete's Dragon', 'The Goldfinch' and alongside Robert De Niro in 'The War with Grandpa'.

Should Oakes sign up for the project, he would star alongside Tom Hanks, who has been cast as Pinocchio's creator Geppetto.

The movie will see Hanks and Zemeckis collaborate once again after working together on 'Forrest Gump' and 'Cast Away'. It was reported that Hanks personally reached out to the filmmaker to inform him that he would take on the role.

The filmmaker will both direct and co-write the script for the movie as Disney continue their strategy of updating their classic animations, which comes after the success of the money-spinning revamps of 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King'.

Disney first released the feature-length 'Pinocchio' movie - based on Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel 'The Adventures of Pinocchio' - in 1940.

A separate 'Pinocchio' movie is also in development at Netflix with Guillermo del Toro directing.

Newcomer Gregory Mann will play the titular role in the stop-motion film and is joined by an all-star ensemble including Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and Christoph Waltz.

The flick will be a darker take on the story, set during the rise of fascism in Mussolini's Italy and exploring how Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father's expectations.