Lilo & Stitch, Bambi, and other live-action remakes are reportedly in the works at Disney

Disney has jumped into the live-action remakes of its fan-favorite animation shows, and multiple projects are in the pipeline for the same. With the resolution of the Hollywood strikes, all production houses have resumed work. Disney has a long list of live actions planned, from Lilo & Stitch and Moana to Snow White and Bambi.

Disney has already tasted success with live-action remakes of some of its very popular shows, such as Alice in Wonderland in 2010 and Beauty and the Beast in 2017. These were followed by two billion-dollar blockbusters in 2019, The Lion King and Aladdin.

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Disney is diving into live-action versions of Snow White, Hercules, Bambi, and Lilo & Stitch

Some of the remakes are already in production (Image via IMDb)

Two of the remakes were in the news even before their announcement. While Snow White had a tentative release time set for March 22, 2024, Mufasa: The Lion King was announced at the 2022 D23 Expo. Again, part of the filming of Lilo & Stitch started a few months ago, and the casting for Moana was getting finalized.

However, all the work was suspended in the wake of the SAG-AFTRA strikes. Now, with the strikes resolved, it is time for Disney to dive headlong into work. With so many live-action versions in the pipeline and delays in production due to the strikes, Disney has a lot to catch up on.

Snow White, written by Greta Gerwig and Erin Wilson, is being directed by Marc Webb. Rachel Ziegler and Gal Gadot were announced for the roles of Snow White and the Evil Queen, respectively. Although there were rumors that the star in the lead role would be replaced, test screenings have shown otherwise. However, re-shoots and Hollywood strikes are likely to delay its March 2024 release date.

Mufasa: The Lion King has been planned as a live-action prequel to 2019’s The Lion King live version, as reported by EW. The prequel is also supposed to continue with the same style of making a photorealistic computer-animated version. The movie plot will focus on Mufasa’s formative years and may have his story retold through Timon and Rafiki. The D23 Expo revealed Mufasa as an orphaned cub.

Lilo & Stitch is another project that is getting its live-action movie, as per EW. Dean Fleischer Camp is finalized as director, with a cast of Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, Kaipo Dudoit, Courtney B. Vance, Tia Carrere, Sydney Agudong, and Jason Scott Lee. Since only a part of the filming is left, Disney is reportedly planning to get it done at top speed.

Moana is meant to be the company’s fast remake under the direction of Thomas Kail, who has helmed Disney’s Hamilton. Casting for the titular character is being handled by Auli’i Cravalho, the voice artist for the original animation version.

Interestingly, Dwayne Johnson is returning to the role of Maui and was the first person to drop the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Johnson is also producing the movie, along with Seven Bucks Productions and Flynn Picture Co. The screenplay, written by Jared Bush of Encanto and Zootopia fame, will stay close to the original plot.

Hercules and Bambi have also been announced for live-action versions under the banner but have no work done yet, as per the Hollywood Reporter and EW, respectively. While the plot for Hercules is not yet written, Bambi is not aiming for a large narrative. The directors for both movies are finalized, with Guy Ritchie for Hercules and Sarah Polley for Bambi.

Actor Danny DeVito has expressed a desire to play Phil in the Hercules remake. There are speculations that either Michael B. Jordan or Taron Egerton may play the titular role, and Ariana Grande will play the hero’s love interest.

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Other movies considered for live-action remake under the Disney banner

Frozen, Tangled and Tarzan are also awaiting remakes (Image via IMDb)

Disney has been bringing out hit live-action remakes to entertain fans, and that includes sequels to some hits. Moreover, rumors and fan reactions have been going around for some time about remakes of Frozen, both movies, Tarzan, Tangled, and The Princess and the Frog.

Some movies that have been in the on-and-off mode of production for a long time are A Sword in the Stone, Aristocats, and Robin Hood, as reported by EW. As such, Robin Hood has director Carlos Lopez Estrada, scriptwriter Kari Granlund, and producer Justin Springer onboard. With plans for making it a musical and using hybrid CGI and live-action, the project may get started anytime soon.

While Juan Carlos Fresandillo was roped in to direct A Sword in the Stone in 2018, the lack of any further movement in the project made Fresandillo move out of it. On the other hand, Will Gluck and Keith Bunin have written the script for Aristocats and plan to produce it under the Olive Bridge Entertainment banner.

Fans will need to wait for Disney to officially announce many of the above movies and their release dates.