Lilo & Stitch live-action film to premiere in 2025, Stitch Visual released

Lilo & Stitch is on the way to finally hitting back the screens after twenty-two years since its last animated movie was released by Disney in 2002.

At the panel of its D23 event on August 9, 2024, Walt Disney Pictures showcased an animated CGI clip of our beloved furry alien turned pet Stitch. This sent massive excitement among the audience to be able to see a live-action version of this Disney classic movie that Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois created.

Lilo & Stitch (Image via Disney)

It was during the showcasing of Disney's upcoming projects, including Tron: Ares, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Snow White, and Freakier Friday, that the audience had the first look at their live adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, taken place at their convention center in Anaheim, California. The CGI version of Stitch popped out of the screen, showing massive applause among the audience. It was later shared by numerous fans on social media.

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Lilo & Stitch's live-action remake was announced back in 2018

Lilo & Stitch dancing (Image via Disney)

On October 3, 2018, Walt Disney Pictures announced a live-adaptation remake under production based on the 20220 animated series Lilo & Stitch, which Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois created. On October 24, 2018, the writer Mike Van Waes revealed that he had started working on the story, but until late 2020, he had left the script.

On July 14, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article that confirmed that Dean Fleischer Camp will be directing the live adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, while in February 2023, Chris Kekaniokalani Bright was confirmed to be completing the script. Initially, the movie was supposed to be named Bad Dog, considering all the chaos that Stitch had created, but then it was decided to be kept as the original 2020 movie.

As per an article on Deadline, posted on April 12, 2023, Maia Kealoha was chosen to voice the role of Lilo Pelekai, Billy Magnussen playing the role of Pleakley, and Zach Galifianakis as Jumba. Christopher Sanders, the original creator of the movie, will reprise his role back again as Stitch. The live adaptation of Lilo & Stitch also reprised the original actors, including Amy Hill, Tia Carrer, and Jason Scott Lee.

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What is the story of Lilo & Stitch?

Dr. Jumba is a phenomenal scientist who, with his years of hard work, successfully created a ruthless, indestructible creature 626, part of his illegal experiment project to create a weapon. Soon, Dr. Jumba was caught and sent to prison by the Grand Council of the Galactic Federation.

The genetically mutated being is sent to be imprisoned on a far asteroid to prevent further damage, but it escapes mid-way and crashes into Earth. His only weakness is water, and he finds it difficult to do anything as he lands in Kauaʻi, Hawaii.

Lilo (Image via Disney)

626 gets hit by a truck and is soon taken to an animal shelter. Nani Pelekai is an orphan Hawaiian girl whose parents died in a car accident. She has to take care of her boisterous little sister, Nani. Otherwise, the social coworker, Cobra Bubbles, will take her to a foster home. While Nani goes to work, Lilo is all alone in the house, so she brings her to an animal shelter to get a friend. Lilo ends up adapting 626, thinking of it as a pet dog and naming him Stitch.

Stitch soon starts gathering chaos around him, and Lilo teaches him how to be gentle. The alien being, purposedly made for destruction, soon begins to generate emotions inside him, with a child's selfless love. The 2002 animated movie is one of Disney's classic heartfelt stories and has a dedicated fan base. The chaotic furry blue alien remains a favorite nostalgia among many Disney fans.

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The live-adaptation remake of Lilo & Stitch will be released in the summer of 2025.