Disney has been cranking out the live-action adaptations of their animated classics for a number of years now, but they aren’t slowing down anytime soon. One of the many projects in development is the live-action Hercules movie set to be directed by Guy Ritchie. Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo are producing through their AGBO production banner, and they gave an update on the project while speaking with Variety.
One of the more common complaints directed towards Disney’s live-action adaptations is that they tend to stick too closely to their animated source material, but Joe Russo says that Hercules will be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution.” Russo added, “I think they’re excited to see what we can all bring to it in a way that isn’t just a reinterpretation of the animated film.” Guy Ritchie is currently working on a pass of the screenplay by David Callaham, and Russo said that “Guy is perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation.“
Much like its animated predecessor, Joe Russo says that Hercules will be a musical and added that TikTok may serve as an unlikely inspiration. “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical,” Russo said. “Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.“
The original Hercules movie featured the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, Susan Egan, and James Woods as Hades, the lord of the underworld. Here’s the synopsis of the original film: “Disney tackles Greek mythology in this animated feature. Hercules (Donovan), a son of gods, was snatched as a baby by Hades (Woods) and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god. Now a teenager, Hercules needs to perform a rite of passage on Earth to prove himself worthy of living with the gods on Mount Olympus. With his plucky satyr sidekick, Philoctetes (DeVito), along for the ride, Hercules must learn how to use his strength to defeat a series of evil creatures.”