Tom Hanks in talks to play Gepetto in Disney's live-action Pinocchio remake

The 62-year-old actor could play the fatherly puppeteer in Disney's upcoming reboot of the 1940 film

Tom Hanks speaks onstage during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 10th annual Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on 18 November, 2018 in Hollywood, California. ((Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images))

Tom Hanks could become the next Gepetto.

The 62-year-old actor is in early talks to play the puppeteer in Disney's live-action remake of its 1940 animated Pinocchio film – itself based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, Variety reported.

This is the first significant casting news regarding the upcoming reboot, for which a release date has yet to be announced.