Every Disney live-action remake in the works

Disney's series of live-action remakes will be part of your world for a while longer. The studio has raked in mountains of cash over the past decade by adapting its classic animated films into live-action, most recently with "The Little Mermaid" starring Halle Bailey. Though that movie wasn't quite as big a hit as expected, it has still grossed over $500 million worldwide. Disney's next major live-action remake is slated for early 2024, and there are plenty more in various stages of development — including a reimagining of a surprisingly recent film.

"Snow White"

Rachel Zegler stars in the title role of "Snow White," a live-action remake pairing her with "Wonder Woman" star Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen. Marc Webb, director of the Andrew Garfield "Amazing Spider-Man" movies, will helm the film, and "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig reportedly worked on the screenplay. Andrew Burnap stars as the male lead, an original character for the remake. Pasek and Paul, the award-winning duo behind musicals like "Dear Evan Hansen" and "La La Land," will also write new songs.

Zegler has indicated Snow White's characterization will be updated for modern viewers, telling People, "Most of my character does not work for today's audience, I'll just say it. We did a really deep dive into fixing and making a modern woman out of Snow White." She's "a bit more independent," according to Zegler, who told Vanity Fair, "People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White, where it's like, yeah, it is — because it needed that. It's an 85-year-old cartoon, and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond 'Someday My Prince Will Come.'"

Like with "The Little Mermaid," the casting of Zegler, who has described herself as a white Latina, generated racist backlash. She tweeted in July 2023 that she wanted to stay out of the "nonsensical discourse about my casting," adding that she hopes "every child knows they can be a princess no matter what." Zegler previously said in a Variety Actors on Actors conversation she never "in a million years" expected to play the character because "you don't normally see Snow Whites that are of Latin descent."

After "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage criticized "Snow White" as a "f--king backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together," Disney said it will "avoid reinforcing stereotypes" in this version and is taking a "different approach" to the seven dwarves after "consulting with members of the dwarfism community." In July 2023, The Daily Mail published what it claimed were photos from the production revealing that Snow White's companions in the film "appear to be a mix of genders, ethnicities and heights," sparking online backlash. Disney initially told The Daily Beast these photos "are fake and not from our production." But the studio later backtracked, admitting they were from the production but not official pictures.

"Snow White" is set to hit theaters on March 22, 2024.

"Mufasa: The Lion King"

This one is not technically a remake, but rather an original extension of one of Disney's prior remakes. "Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins is helming this follow-up to the 2019 live-action-style version of "The Lion King," which has been described as both a prequel and a sequel. "It's a story told in two different timeframes," Jenkins said, flashing back from the present to show Mufasa's backstory and revealing how he "found his place in the circle of life." Think of it as the "Lion King" version of "The Godfather Part II."

"Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true," Jenkins said in 2020. He told Variety the film will explore how "kings aren't just born, they aren't just made," but they "have to become who they are." Jeff Nathanson, who wrote 2019's "The Lion King," returned to write the screenplay, and Jenkins has confirmed there will be musical numbers.

Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre are voicing Scar and Mufasa, respectively, and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are returning from the 2019 version to voice Timon and Pumbaa. "Mufasa: The Lion King" opens on July 5, 2024. If the film is successful, Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, told The New York Times that "The Lion King" could expand into "a big, epic saga" like "Star Wars."

"Moana"

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced in April 2023 that a live-action remake of the 2016 film "Moana" is in the works, and it's scheduled for release on June 27, 2025. The writer of the original film, Jared Bush, is returning.

Johnson is also returning to produce the movie. "I'm honored to partner with @DisneyStudios to tell our story thru the realm of music & dance, which at the core is who we are as Polynesian people," he tweeted. Auli'i Cravalho, the original voice of Moana, is on board as a producer, but she won't be reprising the title role. In an Instagram video, she said it's "absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell," adding that she will help "find the next actress to" portray the character.

The announcement took some fans off guard considering how recent "Moana" is, and this is the first time Disney has announced a live-action remake of any of its movies from the 2010s. This suggests remakes of films like "Frozen" and "Tangled" could also be on the table, but for now, there's only one other remake of a Disney movie from the 21st century that we know about.

"Lilo & Stitch"

That other film is 2002's "Lilo & Stitch," which was already set to get a live-action remake before the "Moana" announcement. It was first reported to be in the works in 2018, and "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" filmmaker Dean Fleischer Camp is directing. The cast reportedly includes Zach Galifianakis as Dr. Jumba Jookiba, Maia Kealoha as Lilo, Billy Magnussen as Agent Pleakley, Sydney Agudong as Nani, and Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles. Chris Sanders will also reportedly return as the voice of Stitch, reprising the role from the animated film.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Lilo & Stitch" began filming in Hawaii in April 2023, but production was shut down by the Hollywood actors strike.

"Hercules"

Guy Ritchie, director of Disney's 2019 remake of "Aladdin," has been tasked with bringing 1997's "Hercules" into live-action next. The remake is being produced by "Avengers: Endgame" directors Joe and Anthony Russo's production company, and they spoke with Variety about their plans to update the original for modern audiences.

"There are questions about how you translate it as a musical," Russo told Variety. "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."

Compared to the other Disney live-action remakes, "Hercules" will be a "little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution," Russo promised, adding that it won't just be a "reinterpretation of the animated film." "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" writer David Callaham was said to be working on the script in 2020, and by 2022, Variety reported that Ritchie was working on a pass on his screenplay.

"Bambi"

Geneva Robertson-Dworet ("Captain Marvel") and Lindsey Beer ("Sierra Burgess Is a Loser") were writing a live-action remake of "Bambi" as of 2020, Variety said, adding that the film would use a similar visual style as the remakes of "The Jungle Book" and "The Lion King."

In June 2023, Deadline reported that Oscar-winning "Women Talking" filmmaker Sarah Polley was in talks to direct the film, which was said to be a musical featuring music from Kacey Musgraves. The report also said the most recent draft was written by Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster.

"The Aristocats"

Questlove of The Roots is set to direct a remake of 1970's "The Aristocats," which Variety described as a live-action and CGI hybrid. It will be Questlove's first film since he directed the Oscar-winning documentary "Summer of Soul," and he's also overseeing the music, according to Deadline. Will Gluck ("Peter Rabbit") and Keith Bunin ("Onward") are reportedly working on the script.

A possible "Aladdin" sequel and spinoff

A sequel to the 2019 live-action version of "Aladdin" was reported to be in the works in 2020, though there have been few substantial updates since then, and by 2023, star Mena Massoud tweeted that he believes it's "very unlikely at this point." Director Guy Ritchie, though, told Collider this year he'd "very much like to" make the sequel and has been "kicking some ideas around."

An "Aladdin" spinoff about Prince Anders, the character played by Billy Magnussen, was also reported to be in the works for Disney+ in 2019. By 2022, Magnussen confirmed to ScreenRant that this is "still moving forward."

A possible "Jungle Book" sequel

A sequel to 2016's "The Jungle Book" was reported to be in the works in 2016 with director Jon Favreau returning. But it's not clear if this is still happening, especially now that Favreau is tied up with "The Mandalorian" and other "Star Wars" shows. But screenwriter Justin Marks told Slashfilm in 2017 the plan was to "go further through" Rudyard Kipling's material "but also go into some of the Disney resources from the '67 film that maybe didn't get to see the light of day in the first film."

"Tink"

This is another project that may no longer be happening, but as far back as 2015, The Hollywood Reporter said a live-action Tinker Bell movie called "Tink" was in the works with Reese Witherspoon set to star. After Yara Shahidi debuted as Tinker Bell in "Peter Pan & Wendy," though, this is probably less likely now.

"Cruella 2"

Shortly after the 2021 debut of "Cruella," the live-action film starring Emma Stone as the "101 Dalmatians" villain Cruella de Vil, Deadline reported that Stone had closed a deal for a sequel. Director Craig Gillespie was expected to return alongside writer Tony McNamara.

"Robin Hood"

"Blindspotting" director Carlos Lopez Estrada was tapped to direct a live-action remake of "Robin Hood" in 2020, with Kari Granlund writing the script, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It was said to be a Disney+ original.

"The Sword in the Stone"

"28 Weeks Later" director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was in talks to helm a remake of "The Sword in the Stone" as of 2018, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The project has been in the works since at least 2015, when "Game of Thrones" producer Bryan Cogman was reported to be writing the script.

"Hunchback"

In 2019, Deadline reported that playwright David Henry Hwang was writing a live-action musical adaptation of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" simply called "Hunchback." The report also said that Josh Gad was set to produce and potentially play the lead character, and Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz will write the music.

By 2023, Gad clarified on Instagram that a poster for the film that was making the rounds was fan-made and not official. But he also said "the script is one of the best I have read," adding that he hopes Disney will "let us make the live-action adaptation the original animated film deserves."

Updated July 20, 2023: This article has been updated to reflect the latest developments.

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