Among several exciting project, the master of dark fantasy Guillermo del Toro is working on a stop animation version of the classic Pinocchio for Netflix, due to land in early 2021.

Rumour has it that Netflix originally approach Spielberg for the role, but he turned it down, suggesting that there would be no one better than the Pan’s Labyrinth creator.

As with all of Guillermo’s fairy tales, it is not aimed at children, and promises to have a political edge. In fact, this version of the story will be set in Italy under Mussolini, during the rise of Fascism, and is sure to have much to say about fear and acceptance.

In an interview Guillermo compared Pinocchio to Frankenstein’s monster, an entity brought into existence through unnatural means, which is sure to inspire fear. The Pinocchio monster will decide to separate himself from his father, and will need to learn for himself about loneliness, pain and failure.

Del Toro said that he believes that at its heart the story of Pinocchio is about the sin of disobedience, but that he thinks that disobedience is the first step in free choice. He promises to explore some interesting themes within this premise.

Del Toro is acting as writer, director and producer on the new movie, and is working with the Jim Henson Company to bring the characters to life through stop motion animation. The Jim Henson company recently brought us The Dark Crystal on Netflix, which provided to be visually stunning. Specifically, Patrick McHale will co-write, Mark Gustafson will co-direct, and Mackinnon and Saunders, the team that made the puppets for The Corpse Bride will reimagine Pinocchio.

No word yet on who will voice the iconic characters.