Rob Marshall to Make INTO THE WOODS His Next Project at Disney

Rob Marshall will make Stephen Sondheim's INTO THE WOODS his next project at Warner Bros/Disney, according to Deadline.com, altering the exisiting production schedule to push the project to the top of the queue.

"The original plan was to start production [of The Thin Man] in late November, but that will change as Marshall eyes Into the Woods next and The Thin Man after," writes Mike Fleming.

As previously reported on BroadwayWorld.com, James Lapine, the original book writer of INTO THE WOODS, is currently at work on a new script for the movie, while Sondheim is expected to contribute some new songs to the film.

“He’s a genius when it comes to his score,” Marshall says of Sondheim, “but what’s so extraordinary is, he really understands all the elements of theater — the choreography, the book and the production design — and has an amazing sense of the whole.”

Marshall's films have been honored with a total of 23 Academy Award nominations - winning nine, including Best Picture. His most recent film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" starring Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz, has grossed over one billion dollars at the worldwide box office becoming the "8th Highest Grossing Picture in History." He is currently developing "The Thin Man" starring Johnny Depp.

Marshall's film "Nine" was nominated for four Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and 10 Critics Choice Awards. His previous directorial efforts include the Academy Award-winning films "Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha." For his work on "Chicago," winner of six Oscars including Best Picture, Marshall received the Directors Guild Award, an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe Award nomination, a BAFTA nomination, The National Board of Review Award and the New York Film Critics Online Award, both for best directorial debut, as well as the American Choreography Award. His epic film "Memoirs of a Geisha" was the winner of three Oscars, three BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe. Both "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Chicago" were nominated for CAS Awards.