Jon Favreau’s star-studded live-action remake of The Jungle Book set a dangerous precedent with a huge financial haul and across-the-board critical acclaim. Since then, Disney’s live-action remakes of The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin have all topped $1 billion at the worldwide box office, so this trend won’t be stopping any time soon.
The Mouse House will probably keep going until its entire library of animated classics has been turned into live-action. On top of these projects that are in active development, a Tinker Bell movie starring Reese Witherspoon and an Aladdin spin-off all about the genies have been mentioned as possibilities for the future.
Cruella
Disney’s live-action remake of 101 Dalmatians will act as a mix between a prequel and a spin-off, focusing on Cruella de Vil’s career as a fashion designer who makes clothes out of precious furs.
Emma Stone has been cast to play Cruella, I, Tonya’s Craig Gillespie is directing, and the movie is set to be released on May 28, 2021, depending on how the pandemic plays out.
The Little Mermaid
Rob Marshall is directing a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid that will retain the original’s musical element. The cast has been filled with big names: Javier Bardem as King Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle, with relative newcomers Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King playing Ariel and Eric, respectively.
Kick-Ass’ Jane Goldman and Finding Neverland’s David Magee have been tapped to write the script, while Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda is among the film’s producers.
Peter Pan & Wendy
Disney’s live-action adaptation of 1953’s Peter Pan will be directed by David Lowery. Titled Peter Pan & Wendy, suggesting a focus on the duo’s relationship, the movie will be co-written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks.
Newcomers Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson have been cast to play Peter and Wendy in the movie, while Jude Law has been confirmed to be playing Captain Hook.
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
In his first big-budget directorial effort since The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Marc Webb will be helming a live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for Disney. The Girl on the Train screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson is writing the script.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are writing original songs for the Snow White remake, having done the same for the Aladdin remake. Filming was due to begin in March but got delayed by the global health pandemic.
Pinocchio
Robert Zemeckis, best known for helming the Back to the Future trilogy, is directing and co-writing (with Chris Weitz), a live-action version of Disney’s take on the Pinocchio legend.
Guillermo del Toro is working on his own Pinocchio movie, but it’ll surely be much darker in its themes and visual style than the Disney version will be.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
David Henry Hwang is directing a live-action remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame under the shortened title Hunchback. It will take elements from both the animated original and Victor Hugo’s source material.
The original’s Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz are working on the music for the remake, while Josh Gad, David Hoberman, and Todd Lieberman are on board as producers.
Rose Red
Disney is working on a live-action spin-off of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in addition to a straight remake. It will focus on Snow White’s sister, Rose Red, and be named after her.
Evan Daugherty, Kristin Gore, and Justin Merz are working on the script, while Brie Larson is reportedly under consideration for the title role.
Bambi
Using the same photorealistic techniques used to bring the characters of The Jungle Book and The Lion King to life, Disney will remake Bambi in live-action from a script by Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Lindsey Beer.
Since Bambi has an all-animal cast like Jon Favreau’s aforementioned Disney remakes, it has been described as a “companion piece” to those two movies.
Hercules
Although it doesn’t have a director attached yet, it was recently announced that Disney was developing a remake of Hercules. The roles haven’t been cast yet, but surely no one can replace Danny DeVito as Phil.
A few of Marvel’s top creatives are on board for the Hercules remake: Anthony and Joe Russo, the directors of Avengers: Endgame (and three other MCU blockbusters), are signed on to produce, while David Callaham, who wrote the Shang-Chi movie (in addition to Wonder Woman 1984 and the Spider-Verse sequel).
The Sword In The Stone
A live-action remake of The Sword in the Stone has been in development since 2015. Bryan Cogman was recruited to write the script, while Brigham Taylor was recruited to produce the movie.
In 2018, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was hired to direct. The remake is currently being developed as an exclusive release for the Mouse House’s streaming service Disney+.
