The reboot of Three Men & A Baby, starring Zac Efron, gets a 2022 release date on Disney+. Becoming a surprise hit when it premiered in 1987, the original Three Men & A Baby follows three bachelors, played by Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson, as their lives are upended by the arrival of a baby on their doorstep.
The comedy performed well above expectations, surpassing Fatal Attraction as the top box office earner of the year and eventually grossing $240 million worldwide against a budget of $11 million. Its success led to a sequel, titled Three Men & A Lady, which was released in 1990. While a planned third installment has stalled, it was reported back in August that a reboot of Three Men & A Baby was in the works for Disney+ with Efron cast as a main character. The project would mark something of a reunion for Efron with Disney, as the actor shot to fame with his leading role in Disney’s High School Musical movies. Now, fans know when they can expect to see the reboot.
As revealed during the Disney Investor Day 2020, the reboot of Three Men & A Baby will be released on Disney+ in 2022. The project is described as a modern take on the 1987 comedy, with The Way Back producer Gordon Gray attached as a producer and Will Reichel penning the script. Reichel previously wrote the 2018 drama Hot Air, which starred Steve Coogan and Neve Campbell.
Although a director has not been announced, and plot details have yet to be revealed, the fact that the reboot is emphasized as a modern take suggests key departures from the original. In the 1980s version, which was based on a French film, a fair amount of humor was derived from the fact that three bachelors had to alter their lives and cluelessly work their way through the difficulties of attending to a newborn. The premise reflected a fairly rigid notion of gender roles by relying on the audience’s acceptance that the three lead characters were inherently incapable of looking after a baby. The reboot will likely have to address changing societal views on fatherhood, while also maintaining the spirit of its predecessor.
Efron is more than up for that task. Since moving away from his breakout role as Troy Bolton, the actor has diversified his filmography by portraying the serial killer Ted Bundy and garnering praise for his prominent supporting turn in The Greatest Showman. However, he has done some of his best work in more comedic fare such as Neighbors and its sequel. Those performances turned heads, as it made clear that Efron had no problem with likely tweaking the persona he’d built up in the High School Musical franchise. Disney is surely counting on Efron to bring that same energy and visibility to the Three Men & A Baby reboot.
Source: Disney