The Shadow King

The Shadow King is an upcoming film written by Henry Selick. Initially, Disney made plans to release the project, but eventually backed out of the deal, after spending a reported $50 million on it, leaving the project for dead.

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."

- Press release by Henry Selick, as cited.

Cast and characters

 * Pamela Adlon as Richard
 * Brendan Gleeson as Darce
 * Jeffrey Tambor as Cuzzie Bell
 * Catherine O’Hara as Miss Fern
 * Jaden Betts as Hap

Setbacks
After spending a reported $50 million, and due to unspecified concerns over future costs and benefits, Disney Studios declined the project in August 2012, allowing Selick to shop the project to other studios.

Pre-production
After the success of his stop motion film Coraline, director Selick was brought into Disney/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.

Release
In February 2013, it was reported in a press release by Selick that K5 International would be handling sales at the European Film Market.