The feature will mark the first time Steven Spielberg has directed a Disney-branded feature.

Steven Spielberg

Mark Rylance stars alongside newcomer Ruby Barnhill and production is underway in Vancouver.

Spielberg directs from Melissa Mathison’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl children’s classic.

The Disney/Amblin/Reliance production in association with Walden Media will open in the US on July 1 2016 followed by the UK via eOne on July 22 – the 100th anniversary of Dahl’s birth