Neil Gaiman soothes everyone's live-action Coraline fears
Don't worry, you won't have to look at those button eyes for real.
Coraline is based on Neil Gaiman's novel.
Take a deep breath, Coraline fans. It looks like your beloved 2009 stop-motion dark fantasy film won't be getting the Disney live-action reboot treatment.
A rumor exploded on Twitter this week that the movie, adapted from Neil Gaiman's book, would get living, breathing actors like Aladdin and the upcoming Mulan did. A lot of fans weren't thrilled, saying the original should just be left alone.
CORALINE BABY I AINT GONNA LET THESE LIVE ACTION CLOWNS GET TO YOU SWEETIE pic.twitter.com/anWbCU1vow
— 𝔎-𝔏𝔬𝔰 (@arlos937) July 16, 2019
Gaiman rode to the rescue on Twitter on Tuesday morning. First he asked if anyone knew where "this live action Coraline nonsense" started.
If anyone has any idea where this "live action Coraline" nonsense started can you send me a link? All I can see is thousands of upset people who have apparently all heard it from each other.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 16, 2019
He followed that up by saying a live-action remake had not crossed anyone's mind.
All I'm seeing is literally thousands of Tweets from people going "No!". I think it's had the opposite effect. If it had ever crossed anyone's mind (it hadn't) it would now not be a thing. https://t.co/Pr82XhZWdP
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 16, 2019
It's hard to determine where the live-action rumor originated, though it's worth noting the existence of an expired casting call for a New York University student film in 2017 of a live-action version of Coraline. The call requested "an expressive actor to capture the physicality of Coraline's father Charlie Jones."
One possible origin story for the rumor is that a fan of Natalia Dyer from Stranger Things suggested the actress would make for a good Coraline. It was just a bit of dream-casting, but it may have sparked the movie remake talk.
As far as I can tell, a Natalia Dyer fan account posted that she would make a good Coraline. People got so mad about the idea of a live action remake, that it created the impression that it was happening. https://t.co/BESonuZkZR
— Jack (@jackofarcades) July 16, 2019
Twitter trends have a way of feeding on themselves like a serpent that eats its own tail. At least we had Gaiman ready to sort us out and save us from the horrors of an Other World where Coraline goes live action.
