Following the success of last summer’s Mulan, Disney is continuing full steam ahead to adapt their classic animated features into live-action films, and its upcoming Hercules remake now has a director. Guy Ritchie, who also helmed 2019’s live-action take on Aladdin ,will return to the mouse house to direct Hercules, which will adapt the animated 1997 original starring Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, and James Woods. Hercules doesn’t yet have a release date, but Ritchie’s recent hiring cements the project’s future.
Guy Ritchie tapped to direct another Disney remake
Once known for quirky British crime capers, like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, director Guy Ritchie is now a full fledged member of the Disney family. Following the billon dollar-plus gross of his live-action Aladdin adaptation, the director, according to Deadline, has been tapped to take the reins of Disney’s upcoming Hercules remake, which will rework the story of Zeus’s son’s mythological misadventures. Ritchie’s not entirely abandoning his grittier roots, however, as he does have an untitled action-thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal on the horizon. As for Hercules, little else is known about the project, aside from the fact the live-action adaptation will also be produced by AGBO, the production company headed by Marvel heavyweights, the Russo brothers.
Disney fans will have plenty of other live-action offerings to keep them busy until Hercules eventually lands though, as Pinocchio, Peter Pan & Wendy, and The Little Mermaid are all due to sprinkle their pixie dust within the next year. While reviews have been hit or miss for these remakes, Disney has found enormous financial success in revisiting its classics with live actors and plenty of CGI creatures and effects. On top of all the aforementioned projects, the company has no less than a dozen others in the pipeline, including Bambi, Snow White, and Lilo & Stitch.
In other Disney/Pixar news, is Loki in Thor: Love and Thunder and Lightyear DLC comes to Minecraft.
