‘Agent Carter’ Star Hayley Atwell Joins Ewan McGregor in Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Hayley Atwell is set to co-star with Ewan McGregor in Disney’s “Christopher Robin,” sources tell Variety.
“World War Z’s” Marc Forster is directing.
“Christopher Robin” follows Disney’s ongoing model of taking animated classics from its archives and giving them a live-action spin, centering on Robin (McGregor), the little boy from the “Winnie the Pooh” series, who is now all-grown-up and lost all sense of imagination. Pooh and his friends reenter Robin’s life to help him find it once again. Atwell will play Robin’s wife.
Brigham Taylor is producing the project. “Hidden Figures” scribe Allison Schroeder is penning the script.
Disney has found a reliable strategy in making live-action hits based on characters from its animated IP, with “Beauty and the Beast” most recently garnering big box office numbers. The live-action adaptation of the Oscar-winning 1991 movie is currently the highest-grossing film of the year at both the domestic and worldwide box office.
Atwell and Disney have a strong relationship, dating back to Atwell’s first appearance as Agent Carter in Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.” The character was so popular that ABC, owned by Disney, made an “Agent Carter” spinoff series, which was canceled last year despite critical acclaim.
Atwell also played Cinderella’s mother in Disney’s 2015 remake of “Cinderella,” one of the studio’s first successes in turning its animated classics into live-action blockbusters.
Following the end of “Agent Carter,” Atwell has moved on to another high-profile TV show. She’s set to star in Starz and BBC’s “Howards End” miniseries, which is currently filming.
She is repped by CAA and Hamilton Hodell.
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