Andy Serkis, the man behind Gollum, King Kong, and Planet of the Apes’ Caesar, has announced he’s going to produce, direct and star in an adaptation of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale called Steelskin.
According to The Tracking Board, Steelskin will be an action-intensive take on the vaguely horrific story of the bargaining magic imp. It will reportedly follow the lead of its heavily-stylized fairytale predecessors Alice in Wonderland: Through The Looking Glass and Snow White and The Huntsman. Coincidentally (or not), the film is being written by Drive scribe Houssein Amini, who also wrote a draft of Snow White and The Huntsman.
For those who don’t remember the tale, Rumpelstiltskin is a magical imp who helps a woman spin straw into gold in exchange for her first-born child. When Rumpelstiltskin comes to claim her newborn son, the imp offers to let her keep her child if she can guess his name within three days.
Steelskin will be Serkis’ second movie behind the camera, as the serial motion-capture star is currently working on Jungle Book: Origins, a live adaptation based on Rudyard Kipling’s short stories — not to be confused with Disney’s Jungle Book, a remake of its 1967 animated feature that is set for release next year.
There’s no release date set for Steelskin, but you can bet it won’t be until well after Jungle Book: Origins, which opens October 6, 2017.