More than three years after he brought the story of Aladdin to life in live-action, Guy Ritchie is once again teaming up with Disney for another re-imagining of a classic animated film. According to Deadline, Ritchie has signed on to helm the studio’s Hercules remake.
The original Hercules hit theaters in 1997 and featured the voices of Tate Donovan as the title character (with Roger Bart providing his singing voice) and James Woods as Hades. It was also one of the last films released during Disney’s 1990s Renaissance era, which came to a proper end once Tarzan bowed in 1999. Additionally, the film is widely remembered for its soundtrack. One of its songs, “Go the Distance,” even received an Academy Award nomination in 1998, but it lost to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic.
Marvel directors Joe and Anthony Russo are also working on Ritchie’s film as producers through their AGBO banner. Right now, the siblings are on the lookout for screenwriters to rewrite an earlier Hercules draft penned by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings scribe Dave Callaham.
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Ritchie’s Aladdin remake earned mixed reviews when it opened in 2019. Regardless, the film made over $1 billion worldwide. So it makes sense that Disney would want to try and recapture some of that magic at the box office. Some of Ritchie’s other recent credits include last year’s Wrath of Man and 2019’s The Gentlemen. His next offering, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, will debut sometime this year.
Disney has enjoyed varying degrees of success with live-action remakes of its animated films over the last decade. Some, like 2016’s The Jungle Book and last year’s Cruella, were a hit with critics. But others, including The Lion King and Dumbo, weren’t as successful, with many critics arguing that they didn’t add anything new to their predecessors. The studio’s next attempt at a live-action remake, Pinocchio, will premiere exclusively on Disney+ on September 8. Disney is also currently developing new takes on Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid.
Do you think Guy Ritchie is a good choice to tackle Hercules? Who would you cast as the title character? Let us know in the comment section below!
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