Black Beauty Rides Again
“WHEN OUR PRODUCERS WANTED TO REMAKE BLACK Beauty, they wanted two things: to modernize the story and to make Black Beauty female,” says Ashley Avis, who directed and wrote the screenplay for the new adaptation of the classic horse tale due out on Disney Plus late this year. The producers got their wish — and more.
Produced by Constantin Film and JB Pictures, the newly reimagined Black Beauty revolves around a wild mustang born in the American West, captured, and taken from her family; and Jo Green, a 17-year-old girl grieving the loss of both parents, who is healed by the horse-human bond. It stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet, voicing the inner thoughts of the horse; Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) as Jo Green; and Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) as horse whisperer John Manly.
“Having grown up with the book, which had such a big impact on my life, I wanted to honor as many parallels as I could find in a modern light — the original characters, the messages,” Avis says. “What I didn’t want to do was just take the idea and change everything.” She struggled the most with the origin of the titular horse: “What would be the parallel now of an 1800s carriage horse
