Disney's series of live-action remakes has quietly become one of Hollywood's most lucrative franchises. The studio has raked in mountains of cash over the past decade by adapting its own classic animated films, and a recent announcement revealed more modern movies are now also on the table for reimagining. Here's what we know about every Disney live-action remake currently in development:
'Peter Pan & Wendy'
After directing the 2016 Pete's Dragon remake, David Lowery is taking on another Disney classic with Peter Pan & Wendy. Alexander Molony plays Peter Pan in this version, while Ever Anderson plays Wendy, Jude Law plays Captain Hook, Jim Gaffigan plays Mr. Smee, and Yara Shahidi plays Tinker Bell. Shahidi will become the first Black woman to take on that role in a major film.
Lowery told Collider in 2021 that the film is "my favorite thing I've ever made," adding that even though he has directed R-rated movies like The Green Knight and A Ghost Story, it's "the most adult movie I've ever made" because it's about letting go of the desire to never grow up. But Lowery teased that certain aspects of the original movie would be tweaked because "there are a lot of things about the animated film that you're just going to leave to the darker side of history." Anderson also noted at D23 that in this version, "Wendy and Peter are equals."
Peter Pan & Wendy isn't receiving a theatrical release, but it will hit Disney+ on April 28.
'The Little Mermaid'
Halle Bailey brings Ariel to live-action in Disney's remake of The Little Mermaid, which looks set to be one of the biggest films of the summer. She stars alongside Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton, while Daveed Diggs voices Sebastian, Awkwafina voices Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay voices Flounder.
Rob Marshall directs after previously helming Disney's Mary Poppins Returns and Into the Woods, and Lin-Manuel Miranda worked with Alan Menken to write "three or four" new songs, though Miranda promised that "none of the ones you like" have been cut.
But Bailey told Edition that some of the "themes" of the film will be updated from the original. "I'm really excited for my version of the film because we've definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy," Bailey said. "It's way bigger than that. It's about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life, and what she wants." The Little Mermaid opens on May 26.
'Snow White'
Rachel Zegler stars in the title role of Snow White, a live-action remake pairing her with Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen. Marc Webb, director of the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man movies, will helm the film, and Little Women 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.'" Zegler also 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 the film due to Snow White's "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."
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, and it's the last of these projects that has an announced release date.
'Moana'
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson announced in April 2023 that a live-action remake of the 2016 film Moana is currently in the works. He'll be 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," Johnson tweeted.
Auli'i Cravalho, the original voice of Moana, is on board as a producer, though it wasn't clear if she'll reprise the role. The writer of the original film, Jared Bush, is also returning.
But 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. The project was first reported to be in the works in 2018, and there's been some movement on it recently. In 2022, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On director Dean Fleischer Camp was hired to direct, and reports said earlier this year that Zach Galifianakis and newcomer Maia Kealoha have been cast. Galifianakis is expected to play Pleakley, The Wrap reported, while Kealoha is reportedly playing Lilo.
'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.
'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. With Yara Shahidi debuting 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.
'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.
'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."
