A New Scripted Feature Film About Jane Goodall Coming from Disney and Appian Way

The iconic chimpanzee expert turned 90 this year.

Disney, alongside Appian Way, is developing a scripted feature film exploring the life of the iconic primatologist Jane Goodall.

What’s Happening:

  • Deadline exclusively reports that a new scripted feature film exploring the life and career of popular primatologist Jane Goodall is currently being developed.
  • The 90 year old wildlife expert recently spoke with the newsource about the upcoming project, stating she had already given feedback on the Eleanor Catton script.
  • Goodall shared with Deadline “They’re making a film about me with an actress. I’ve seen the first draft of the script and made a lot of comments.”
  • Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is developing the film, which approached Disney due to Goodall’s work with Disneynature. A deal was made between the media corporations and Goodall for her life rights.
  • Goodall is producing the film alongside Appian Way’s Jennifer Davisson and Michael Hampton.
  • Since the 1960s, Goodall has been a staple in conservation work as one of the world’s top chimpanzee experts. Her presence in a, then, heavily male industry has inspired people around the world.
  • Goodall’s former husband, filmmaker and Dutch nobleman Hugo van Lawick, caught hours of her work as a primatologist at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania.
  • Documentaries have also been made about her life, including another Disney project with National Geographic’s Jane.

Read More National Geographic:

Maxon Faber
Based in Los Angeles, California, Maxon is roller coaster and musical theatre nerd. His favorite dinosaur is the parasaurolophus, specifically the one in Jurassic World: The Ride.