Ewan McGregor To Reconnect With Winnie The Pooh As The Star Of Disney’s ‘Christopher Robin’

It’s a good time to be Ewan McGregor. Sure, his directorial debut “American Pastoral” didn’t get great reviews, and his return to the role that made him a star with “T2: Trainspotting” was a bit of a disappointment, but he just co-starred in one of the biggest movies ever made with “Beauty & The Beast,” he’s winning some of the best reviews of his career with his dual role in “Fargo,” and there are persistent rumors that he might be returning to the Star Wars universe for an Obi-Wan Kenobi spin-off.

And now, McGregor’s converted that heat into a leading role with the most successful studio in town. According to The Hollywood Reporter, McGregor will continue the Disney relationship begun when he played Lumiere in “Beauty & The Beast” by leading the studio’s movie “Christopher Robin.” As the title might suggest, it’s a live-action reboot of A.A. Milne’s classic “Winnie The Pooh.” But here, it’s with a “Hook”-style twist: it sees Pooh’s human friend all grown up, and without a sense of imagination, only to come across not only his bear-of-very-little-brain friend but also Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger and the rest of the gang.

Not to be confused with Fox Searchlight’s upcoming Milne biopic “Goodbye Christopher Robin” starring Domhnall Gleeson and Margot Robbie, it sounds, well, a bit like the sort of magical-dad-transformation-movie that’s been made a million times. But there’s some interesting talent involved on the writing side: none other than indie fave Alex Ross Perry wrote the first draft of the script, while Oscar winner Tom McCarthy and Oscar nominee Allison Schroeder (“Hidden Figures”) have done subsequent work on the script.

So hopefully it won’t turn out too much like, say, “Mr. Popper’s Penguins,” though director Marc Forster can be hit or miss to say the least. There’s no firm word on when filming begins, but it’s likely to make a ton of money whenever it hits theaters. In the meantime, you can see McGregor’s great work on “Fargo” on FX tonight, and for the next six weeks or so.