Just over one year after he signed on to co-write the script for the Pete's Dragon remake, David Lowery is now in negotiations to direct the live-action feature.

The original Pete's Dragon, which debuted in 1977, was a live-action/animated hybrid that followed a young boy and his pet dragon, as they run away to escape his abusive adoptive parents. This new version, written by David Lowery and Toby Halbrooks, will reinvent the core of the original, removing all of the musical elements.

David Lowery made his feature debut with 2009's St. Nick, about a group of runaway children who learn to fend for themselves in the wild. Last year, his indie Ain't Them Bodies Saints debuted at Sundance before it was picked up by IFC Films and released in August. The filmmaker also produced Listen Up Philip, which debuted at Sundance this year and stars Jason Schwartzman, Krysten Ritter and Elisabeth Moss.

The filmmaker is also attached to direct an adaptation of Kevin Powers' novel The Yellow Birds, although insiders believe that project will take a back seat to Pete's Dragon.