Robert Redford in talks for Disney film 'Pete's Dragon'

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Robert Redford is in talks to star in Pete's Dragon.

The 77-year-old actor would portray a local knowledgeable in dragon lore in the Disney remake.

David Lowery (Ain't Them Bodies Saints) will direct the film, with Jim Whitaker as producer. Nine-year-old Oakes Fegley (Boardwalk Empire) has been cast as the titular Pete, with Oona Laurence as the mill owner's daughter. Filming will combine live action with a CGI dragon, and is expected to begin in New Zealand this fall.

Disney originally released Pete's Dragon in 1977. The film is set in the early 1900s, and follows a young orphan named Pete. The character flees his abusive adoptive family, and befriends a large but friendly dragon with the power to become invisible. The remake will alter the story so Pete and the dragon, Elliott, live in a forest threatened by loggers.

Redford most recently appeared as villain Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and is scheduled for A Walk in the Woods and Dan Rather biopic Truth. The actor will be honored with a Career Achievement Award at the 2014 IDA Documentary Awards on December 5.