Between Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and and now Cruella, Disney has developed quite a knack for remaking their classic animated library in live-action and letting the money flow in. And like it or not, there are plenty more live-action remakes in the pipeline for years to come... especially with millions of Disney+ subscribers hungry for more content.
Read on for every one of these remakes currently in development -- some are about to be released, some are still in production, and others are still in the scripting stages. From Hercules to The Little Mermaid to multiple Aladdin sequels, these are the Disney movies that aim to keep the old favorites alive...
ALADDIN SEQUEL AND SPINOFFS
Disney may be developing as many as three offshoots of 2019's Aladdin. One will be a direct sequel, with director Guy Ritchie and stars Mena Massoud, Will Smith and Naomi Scott expected to return. The sequel won't be a direct adaptation of either animated sequel, The Return of Jafar or Aladdin and The King of Thieves, but may borrow plot elements from them.
Disney is also reportedly moving forward with a spinoff focused on Billy Magnussen's character Prince Anders, one which would be exclusive to Disney+. The studio also teased a prequel movie dubbed Genies back in 2015. That film would explore the origin of the Genie, though there's been little word on the project since.
THE LION KING 2
Unsurprisingly, Disney is moving ahead with a sequel to 2019's Lion King remake. Writer Jeff Nathanson has penned a draft of the screenplay, though this time Moonlight's Barry Jenkins will direct rather than Jon Favreau. The film will at least partly focus on a younger Mufasa, but Deadline reports the project is both a prequel to and a continuation of the first, comparing the movie to The Godfather Part II.
BAMBI
The most traumatizing children's movie this side of Watership Down is getting a live-action remake, for better or worse. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer are writing the screenplay for this adaptation, which will employ a photo-realistic CGI approach similar to the Jungle Book and Lion King remakes.
HERCULES
MCU veterans Joe and Anthony Russo are producing a remake of 1997's Hercules alongside The Lion King's Jeffery Silver and Karen Gilchrist. David Callaham is writing the screenplay. The film will include at least some of the songs from the animated version, though the Russos have indicated the story is less a direct adaptation than a re-imagining of the original.
ROBIN HOOD
In April 2020 The Hollywood reporter broke the news that 1973's Robin Hood is getting the live-action remake treatment. The film will use a combination of live-action elements and CGI characters, retaining the anthropomorphized animal approach of the original. The remake is written by Kari Granlund and directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada and is expected to be exclusive to Disney+.
THE JUNGLE BOOK 2
Jon Favreau's Jungle Book remake turned out to be one of Disney's biggest moneymakers of 2016, so of course a sequel is already in the works. Favreau is slated to direct again, with star Neel Sethi and screenwriter Justin Marks also expected to return. The sequel was initially rumored to be filmed concurrently with Favreau's Lion King remake, but production has yet to begin as of 2021.
CHARMING
Variety reports that The Wonder writer/director Stephen Chbosky has signed on to write and potentially direct Charming, a new take on the Prince Charming character. The film will apparently be set from the point of view of Prince Charming's younger, less famous brother.
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
A live-action remake of 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was announced in January 2019, with David Henry Hwang tapped to pen the screenplay. Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz will return to write the music, though it's unclear how much will be new material and how much will be reused from the original. Josh Gad is producing and will star as Quasimodo.
LILO & STITCH
One of the more recent live-action adaptations added to Disney's lineup, Lilo & Stitch is currently being scripted by Mike Van Waes. Aladdin producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich are supervising this project as well. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lilo & Stitch will be a live-action/CG hybrid. Crazy Rich Asians' John M. Chu is reportedly in talks to direct, and voice actor Chris Sanders will reprise the role of Stitch. Despite reports in 2020 that the film would head straight to Disney+, it's unclear whether a theatrical release is being planned.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Disney's Little Mermaid remake is one of several new takes on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale in various stages of development. This one has a pretty big selling point, however, as Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda will be producing the film and crafting a new lineup of songs alongside original composer Alan Menken. Miranda's Hamilton costar Daveed Diggs is also coming along for the right, voicing the grumpy crab Sebastian. The cast also includes Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
Chicago's Rob Marshall is directing the film. Production was slated to begin in 2020 but was delayed to early 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Disney has yet to announce a release date, but presumably the film will debut before the end of 2022.
NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN
Disney seems disinterested in greenlighting another Fantasia sequel, but at least we're getting a remake of this iconic segment from the original Fantasia. Night on Bald Mountain is being scripted by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless and will reportedly apply the Maleficent treatment to Chernabog, the nocturnal, demon-summoning monster. Hopefully this remake will stick closer to the source material than 2010's The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
PETER PAN & WENDY
There's been no shortage of live-action Peter Pan movies in recent years, but that's not stopping Disney from revisiting their 1953 animated version. The remake is in the hands of Pete's Dragon director David Lowery and co-writer Toby Halbrooks. The cast includes Alexander Molony as Peter, Ever Anderson as Wendy, Jude Law as Captain Hook and Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell. The film will be released straight to Disney+ at some point in 2022.
PINOCCHIO
Pinocchio is another character every studio seems eager to take a crack at. Disney first tapped The Odd Life of Timothy Green writer Peter Hedges to adapt the 1940 animated movie, with later drafts being written by Chris Weitz and Jack Thorne. We now know the film will reunite Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and star Tom Hanks. The cast also includes Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Pinocchio, Cynthia Erivo as the Blue Fairy, Luke Evans as The Coachman and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiminy Cricket. Production began in March 2021, and the film will head straight to Disney+ upon release (presumably in 2022).
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
The very first animated Disney film is well on its way to getting a live-action remake, with a script from Erin Cressida Williams (The Girl on the Train) and a new assortment of songs from La La Land's Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The Amazing Spider-Man's Marc Webb is directing, and West Side Story's Rachel Zegler will star. Production was intended to begin in 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic.
Disney is also apparently developing a spinoff called Rose Red, which would focus on Snow White's sister joining forces with the dwarfs to break her curse.
THE SWORD IN THE STONE
Disney is the latest studio to take a crack at bringing the story of King Arthur to life in live-action. Game of Thrones' Brian Cogman has been charged with writing the screenplay, which we assume will maintain a lighter, more playful take on the story of Arthur's ascension to the throne. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will direct, and the film will be exclusive to Disney+.
TINKER BELL
In addition to their Peter Pan remake, Disney is also developing a solo Tinker Bell movie. We don't know if the two projects are linked, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, “it will play with the idea and the timeline of the well-known Peter Pan narrative.” Finding Dory's Victoria Strouse is writing the screenplay, and Reese Witherspoon is attached to produce and star in the film.
Which of these live-action remakes are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments below.
Be sure to check out IGN's review of Cruella and our roundup of all the big movies hitting in Summer 2021.
Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
