THE PRICE's Danny DeVito in Talks to Join Disney's Live-Action DUMBO Film

Deadline reports that Danny DeVito, currently making his Broadway debut in Arthur Miller's THE PRICE, is in talks to join Tim Burton's live-action reboot of DUMBO for Walt Disney Studios. As previously announced, actress Eva Green is in talks to take on the role of Colette, a French trapeze artist in the project.

DeVito would portray Medici, described as "the man who runs a smaller circus that gets acquired by the evil big top circus villain Vandemere." According to sources, DeVito's casting deal "is pretty much closed."

DUMBO will feature a script by Ehren Kruger. The film premiered in 1941 and marked the fourth Disney animated feature film. It is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl. In the story, the title character is ridiculed for his big ears, but in fact he is capable of flying by using his ears as wings. Throughout most of the film, his only true friend, aside from his mother, is the mouse, Timothy - a relationship parodying the stereotypical animosity between mice and elephants.

DeVito is best known for his award-winning performance as LOUIE De Palma on the television show "Taxi". He won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. In a 1999 readers' poll conducted by TV Guide, DeVito's LOUIE De Palma was voted number one among "TV's Fifty Greatest Character's Ever." In 2012, DeVito and Richard Griffiths received rave reviews in the London stage revival of Neil Simon's comedy The Sunshine Boys. The following year, DeVito reprised his critically acclaimed role together with former "Taxi" co-star Judd Hirsch in Los Angeles. DeVito also directed, starred in and co-produced short film Curmudgeons, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and was later seen at the 2016 Seattle Film festival. It will next be screened at the 2016 London Film Festival.

Most recently, DeVito co-starred in the Todd Solondz' dark comedy Wiener-Dog. In 2015, DeVito was executive producer on the biographical documentary Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story. In 2014 he co-produced Universal Pictures' crime drama A Walk Among the Tombstones and starred in All The Wilderness. In 2012 DeVito starred in Sebastian Gutierrez's black and white crime drama, Hotel Noir. DeVito will next be heard voicing Chesterfield in the animated film Animal Crackers. In 2012, DeVito voiced the Lorax in Universal Pictures' animated feature The Lorax, based on the book by Dr. Seuss. His voice was also heard in the German, Russian, Spanish and Italian versions of the film.

DeVito has starred in such films as Junior, Batman Returns, Twins, Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Ruthless People, Tin Men, Anything Else, Big Fish, Renaissance Man, The Big Kahuna and Heist. He starred more recently in The Good Night, Deck The Halls, Relative Strangers, The OH in Ohio, Be Cool, Nobel Son and Even Money. DeVito returns as Frank Reynolds in the 12th season of FXX's acclaimed cult comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" in January. He will next be seen in The Comedian, starring Robert De Niro and Leslie Mann, directed by Taylor Hackford.

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