Burton may direct Downey in Pinocchio

And while the quirky director has yet to make a public response, The Hollywood Reporter has stated that Downey Jr - currently starring in Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows - "expressed serious interest" in playing puppet master Geppetto.

The classic tale is guaranteed a quirky reinterpretation given that Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller is on script duty and producer Dan Jinks has insisted: "I think we've found a fresh approach that's going to be very entertaining."