DiCaprio planning darker Red Riding Hood

He's producing a take on the fairy tale

Aug 5th 2009 By James White

Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company is busy developing a dark, gothic take on Little Red Riding Hood.

Chances are you know the Brothers Grimm version of the story - the titular girl heads into the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother, only to encounter a hungry wolf who disguises himself as the ailing woman to steal the treats and tries to snack on Red too.

But there are much earlier spoken-word variations, dating back to the Middle Ages which feature a werewolf and the first published accounts sees the heroine eaten by the wolf with zero chance of a happy ending.

We're guessing they might pull back from that one, though given that Orphan screenwriter David Leslie Johnson is developing the script, we're not entirely sure.

Oh, and Leo has no plans to star, at least not unless they're planning to go all performance capture for the wolf and will let him slip on the computer-scanned leotard.

[Source: Variety]

Excited by the idea of a darker version? Blood Red Riding Hood, anyone?