The Adventures of Thomas (partially found production material of cancelled "Thomas the Tank Engine" live-action film; early-mid 2010s)

Teaser poster.

Status: Partially Found

Thomas the Tank Engine is a British children franchise starring the fictional steam locomotive, Thomas, the series is based on The Railway Series of books with a TV series of the same name (later titled Thomas & Friends) that aired new episodes from October 9th, 1984 to January 20th, 2021 and a reboot that premiered later in 2021.

Live-Action Film

In 2009 a live-action film based on the series titled The Adventures of Thomas was being developed by HiT Entertainment.^[1] Set in London during the Second World War, the film was going to be directed by Shane Acker who wanted to broaden the series' appeal to an older audience. In a 2011 Deadline article, he describes the plot:

"The tale will revolve around a pre-teen boy who has drifted apart from his father. The son is introduced into this world of Sodor, a place his father visited as a child but can’t remember. There is a bonding experience."^[2]

The film was originally planned to be released in late 2010 but was pushed back to 2012, that same year HiT Entertainment was bought out by Mattel who ended up cancelling it soon after.^[3]

Status

Since the film's cancellation, there wasn't a lot of information on the film outside of a teaser trailer and some concept material resurfacing, but that would all change on June 14th, 2024, when YouTuber Derek Smith uploaded a video on the subject, which included a summary of the film's plot, this was through a script sent by one of its writers, Josh Klausner. This script currently remains unavailable to the general public.