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Hatfield, U.K. native Guy Ritchie made his bones early on as the prolific and uber-talented director of such water-cooler movies as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Swept Away (actually just having a lark with that last-listed and ill-advised flick staring Ritchie’s then-wife, Madonna). Lately, the edgy director has somewhat reinvented himself behind the camera with his work on such family friendly fare as two Sherlock Holmes movies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Aladdin and the forthcoming Aladdin 2. And, apparently determined to follow that through-line until the bitter end, our King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fanatics over at The Hollywood Reporter have announced that the man who made unintelligible Irish accents quite chic and vogue back in 2000 is currently prepping a live-action movie about none other than the mythical Hercules.
Fresh off the heels of the box-office hit Aladdin – which was Disney’s recent live-action remake of its 1992 animated flick of the same name – The House That Uncle Walt Built is penciling in its dance card for a return engagement with director Guy Ritchie. Not content to just have Ritchie work on a sequel to 2019’s Aladdin, Mickey and Co. have handed off yet another projected live-action remake of one of their animated movies, 1997’s Hercules.
One thing of interest to note about the upcoming Guy Ritchie helmed Hercules: The ’97 original was a bit of a moneymaking dud and was widely considered a disappointment when it first hit the scene twenty-five years ago. Apparently time heals all wounds, as Disney seems determined to find that elusive audience for their Roman adventurer.
Working alongside Ritchie to bring Hercules to stunning cinemascope-style life will be prolific scribe Dave Callaham, whom some of you might recall from his writing duties on Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Always fine-tuning, word ‘round industry campfire has it that Disney is now looking for writers to fine-tune Callaham’s original draft; brush off those dusty resumes, writers!
For anyone out there keeping count, Disney currently has a mad-on to translate most of their animated library into live-action extravaganzas: Alongside Hercules and the Aladdin remakes, the company has plans for a Snow White flick and The Little Mermaid. Saints preserve us – Can a $500 million live action Steamboat Willie directed by Jim Cameron be too far behind?
No further word on a release date or casting as of yet, but you can bet your bootleg Blu-ray copy of Song of the South that we’ll keep you posted as new information trickles into HQ!
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