Disney’s Next Live-Action Remake Reportedly Getting Overhauled (& It’s Lilo & Stitch’s Fault)

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This change in approach from Disney comes from The DisInsider. In a recent mailbag post, they had this to say when asked if the new Hercules would focus more on Hades’s character, and if it was still in the works at all: “This project has gone through some creative struggles both from the studio side and the creatives side. While a retooled Hercules story was the route the creatives wanted to go, the studio has decided the direction they will go is a faithful adaptation of the animated film, which you can thank the success of Lilo & Stitch for.”

A Faithful Live-Adaptation of Hercules is the Right Move

Speculation about a live-action version of Hercules began brewing long before the film was officially confirmed to be in the works by Disney in 2022. The current godfathers of the MCU, Joe and Anthony Russo were attached as producers, along with director Guy Ritchie, who directed the hit live-action adaptation of Aladdin in 2019. With writer Dave Callaham, whose credits include Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a live-action Hercules was allegedly going to axe all of the original animated film’s music and would be full of incredible fight sequences that were perhaps closer to 300 and Clash of the Titans than your run of the mill Disney flick. Though the Russos, Callaham, and Ritchie are an action adventure dream team, we ultimately feel that Disney has made the right move here, not just based on box office returns, but based on what the lovers of the Disney animated films really want.

Films from the Disney Renaissance, the ten-year period between 1989 to 1999 where Disney released a successful animated film annually, are sacred to millennials. These were the movies of their childhood, and in an increasingly unstable world, it makes sense that they would likely see a live-action adaptation of a classic film for their childhood to relive the magic of their youth. A radical change to the film’s take risks Disney alienating that core audience, who are most likely not only to come to the theater on opening weekend, but bring their friends and family, especially their children, along with them.

Given that millennials just became the largest generation in the population, Disney choosing to stay faithful to the original family-friendly Hercules with its iconic soundtrack, instead of finding a new, edgier take is exactly what they should be doing. Furthermore, Disney’s West End production of a musical version of Hercules is gaining heat across the pond in London. Hercules contains some fan favorites in the Disney songbook like “Zero to Hero”, “Go the Distance”, and “I Won’t Say I’m in Love”. Making a film that cuts those classics doesn’t just insult the musical genius of composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel, it would also disappoint an audience who has the film’s soundtrack freshly in their heads because of the stage production. So, as much sympathy we feel for the live-action Hercules creative team right now as they likely start from square one on the project, we have to agree with the Mouse on this one.