Last weekend, Disney's Maleficent grossed a strong $183 million worldwide, which can only mean one thing: more dark, live-action reboots of popular Disney properties, released in a string that will only end when they become unprofitable.
Next up: a new, live-action take on Beauty and the Beast, which earned Disney $424 million and a Best Picture nomination in its 1991 animated form. According to Variety, Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast will be directed by The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn's Bill Condon, who has a proven record in movies about borderline-abusive relationships between willowy brunettes and broody men with supernatural powers.
Disney's list of live-action reboots now includes Beauty and the Beast, Maleficent, Oz The Great and Powerful, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, and the upcoming Cinderella — so if you've been sitting on a pitch that recasts The Little Mermaid's Ursula as a tragic hero, this is probably the time to call your agent.
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