More Live Action Remakes Announced - How Far Will Disney Go?

The Rock announced that ‘Moana’ will get the live action treatment.

Another day, another remake.

This morning, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson proudly announced that Disney’s Moana will be reimagined as a live action film.

The Rock - known for his role as Maui - will be one of the producers of the remake, with Moana's voice actress Auli‘i Cravalho on board as an executive producer.

Now hear me out – Moana only came out in 2016, so does this not feel a bit too soon?

Moana isn’t the only Disney film getting the live action treatment soon, so let’s have a look at what we know so far and debate – are Disney’s remakes getting out of hand?

The Little Mermaid.

The next live action movie coming out is The Little Mermaid in May, so it’ll be exciting to see another Disney princess is brought to the big screen.

Singer Halle Bailey will be playing the iconic role of Ariel, with Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.

Lilo & Stitch.

One of the most recent updates come from the upcoming Lilo & Stitch film, which has reportedly cast newcomer Maia Kealoha as Lilo.

Zach Galifianakis is also set to star in the film in an undisclosed role.

I’m keen to see Stitch get the CGI treatment, as long as it’s not going to be like the initial CGI monstrosity that was Sonic the Hedgehog.

love THIS but my god am i terrified to see what a live action stitch will look like… https://t.co/y2qbGoo8Wa

— jimmy (@jimmyoutsold) March 31, 2023

The Aristocats.

Oscar winner Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson was announced last week to direct a ‘live action/hybrid’ version of The Aristocats.

If you’re wondering why he looks familiar, he’s one of the founding members of the band The Roots, so it’s no surprise he will also be overseeing the music for the film, as well as executive producing.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Back in 2019, it was announced that Disney was producing a remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame that will take inspiration from both the Victor Hugo novel, and the 1996 animated film.

Musical legends Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz returning after they scored an Oscar nomination for their work on the original.

Josh Gad – known for a couple of Disney roles now including Frozen’s Olaf and live action LeFou in Beauty and the Beast – will be a producer on the film.

I just want to know if the live action Hunchback of Notre Dame is still happening 😩

— jonathan (@jaysquivel) April 3, 2023

Hercules.

The Russo brothers are ready for another ‘marvel’ of a film (see what I did there?), and are taking the reigns in producing a live action adaptation of Hercules, with Guy Ritchie directing.

Joe Russo says that Hercules will be a ‘little bit more experimental in tone’ and in ‘execution’, so don’t expect it to be following as close to the OG film.

But don’t panic – it’ll still be a musical, but this quote from Variety has fans a little… unsure.

“There are questions about how you translate it as a musical,” Russo says. “Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”

Disney: Hercules live action will be a musical!

Me: Great! As it should be

Disney: Will also be based off of TikTok trends!

Me: Come again?

— Danny Scott (@DanielSwrites) November 3, 2022

I’m a little scared now.

Snow White.

The OG Disney princess is being brought to life by Rachel Zegler (Shazam: Fury of the Gods), with the Evil Queen played by Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman).

There have been so many different iterations of the classic tale brought to the big screen, so let’s see how Disney are going to separate themselves from the rest.

Meet Snow White and the Evil Queen in Disney's live-action remake of the classic animated film: Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. https://t.co/jyWkg31geN pic.twitter.com/bdmEl4c3CH

— Variety (@Variety) November 6, 2021

We haven’t even mentioned the Peter Pan & Wendy movie coming to Disney Plus at the end of this month, Emma Stone’s Cruella is getting a sequel (why?), and the Lion King spinoff movie Mufasa: Lion King (also why?).

We’d love to hear – are there too many live action remakes happening, or are you enjoying the ride?

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Header Image: Walt Disney Productions, Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.