Thomas the Tank Engine has been a hugely popular toy product for over 50 years. In that time, it’s branched off into various forms of media and now looks to get another film adaptation.
Shane Acker, director of the post-apocalyptic animated film 9, which started as an Oscar-nominated short film, is on board to direct an upcoming feature based on the popular toy property. The film will take place in Sodor, an island where trains can talk. This’ll only be Acker’s second full-length feature and his first ever live-action film.
This seems like an odd change of pace from 9, but Deadline Hollywood relays a statement from Acker that expresses why he’s adapting a film from this property:
"I'm a recent father, with a 20-month old daughter. We lead such busy lives in Hollywood, always running and hustling, but children tend to slow you down a bit and reconnect you with that inner world. It reinvents your imagination, seeing things through a child's eyes It was transformative for me and that is what inspired me about the possibilities here. The tale will revolve around a pre-teen boy who has drifted apart from his father. The son is introduced into this world of Sodor, a place his father visited as a child but can't remember. There is a bonding experience."