Disney's live-action Hercules remake is moving forward with Aladdin's Guy Ritchie attached to direct. Based on the Greek legend of the same name, the 1997 animated fantasy explored the journey of Zeus and Hera's son Hercules after he is kidnapped from Mount Olympus by Hades' demonic minions in the hopes of paving the way for him to conquer the mythic Greek palace. Hercules retains his super-human strength and is trained by the satyr Philoctetes to become a hero and defeat Hades before it's too late.
Tate Donovan led the cast of Hercules as the titular hero alongside Danny DeVito as Phil, James Woods as Hades, Susan Hegan, Rip Torn, Samantha Eggar, Bobcat Goldthwait, Matt Frewer, Hal Holbroo and Barbara Barrie. Helmed by The Little Mermaid duo Ron Clements and John Musker, the film scored largely positive reviews from critics and audiences alike upon hitting theaters in 1997, namely for Woods' performance as Hades, though underperformed at the box office in comparison to previous Disney outings, only grossing $252.7 million worldwide. Despite this, Hercules is generally considered a classic in the House of Mouse's library and it now looks to be coming back in major fashion.
Deadline has brought word that Disney is moving forward with its live-action Hercules movie adaptation with Aladdin's Guy Ritchie signing on to direct. The studio is reportedly now beginning the search for a writer for the project after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Dave Callaham wrote an early draft for the remake. Avengers: Endgame duo Joe and Anthony Russo are attached to produce the live-action Hercules via their AGBO production banner.
Development on Disney's live-action Hercules was first announced in early 2020 as the House of Mouse teamed with the producers behind The Lion King live-action remake and the Russo brothers, who have teased it would not be a literal translation of the original animated movie. As the pandemic took siege, the studio seemingly shifted its focus towards completing the projects it had already begun or shot before making further progress on any that were still in early development. With theaters now opening back up and Disney once again scoring big at the box office thanks to its Marvel Studios titles Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it looks as though they've gotten back to working on a variety of projects with Ritchie's hiring for Hercules.
Interestingly, Ritchie being hired to direct Disney's live-action Hercules movie makes the Aladdin filmmaker one of the few to helm multiple live-action remakes at the studio. Ritchie now joins the likes of The Jungle Book and The Lion King's Jon Favreau and Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo's Tim Burton, and given the mammoth box office success of the live-action Aladdin, it's understandable the studio would turn back to Ritchie in the hopes of recreating this success. While audiences await further details on the live-action movie, they can revisit the original Hercules streaming on Disney+ now.
Source: Deadline