The Shadow King

Synopsis

The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother Richard and ultimately destroying New York.

Cast and characters

Pre-production

After the success of his stop motion film Coraline, director Selick was brought into Pixar and given a four-picture deal. He wrote his own script for a story about a young orphan in New York City who has hands with unusually long fingers which the child hides from others. When the child is taught how to make "amazing hand shadows that come to life", they become his weapons in a shadow war against a monster intent on killing the child's brother and ultimately, New York as well. The film began pre-production in 2011, with an expected release date of October 2013.

Setbacks

After spending a reported $50 million, and due to unspecified concerns over future costs and benefits, The Walt Disney Company declined the project in August 2012, allowing Selick to shop the project to other studios. In February 2013, it was reported in a press release by Selick that K5 International would be handling sales at the European Film Market. It is unknown when the film will actually be released. In August 2016, a rep for Henry Selick said the film is "in turnaround again" while Selick is continuing work on his other two projects: A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Wendell and Wild.