Live action remakes of old favorites is becoming increasingly popular.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast beat records for the largest March opening, pulling in $170 million.
Now, many live action remakes are coming up for production companies who are hoping to cash in on Disney’s success.
Mulan is scheduled to release in November with a couple of changes to the script.
“From what I understand, no songs right now, much to the horror of my children,” director Niki Caro said in an interview with Moviefone.
It has also been rumored that Captain Li Shang, Mulan’s love interest, will also not make an appearance in the movie.
Caro called the movie “a big, girly martial arts epic. It will be extremely muscular and thrilling and entertaining and moving.”
Lion King is also getting its own live action remake with Donald Glover tapped to play Simba and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa.
Disney has said the film is on a “fast track,” but it is not expected to start filming until May.
It is rumored that Disney will also be producing a live action film of Prince Charming, which focuses more on the Prince.
According to Variety, the story is told from the viewpoint of the Prince’s brother, “who never lived up to the family name.”
David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV, the same production company behind Emma Watson’s live action Beauty and the Beast, will produce the show.
In 2015, Disney officially confirmed the rumor of a live action Tinkerbell coming to the big screen.
Reese Witherspoon will playing the role of Tinkerbell in the film. She will also be directing the film.
Peter Pan is also an expected remake. Although not much is known yet, the director is David Lowery.
Disney has not yet announced a release date for Aladdin, but that one is in the works too. This month, Disney put out a casting call for Middle-Eastern actors so that they could find the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine.
Shooting is expected to begin this summer with Guy Ritchie, the stylistic director behind the Sherlock Holmes films, as the director.
Winnie the Pooh is coming back, but this time it will be known as Christopher Robin and it follows the young boy all grown up.
Sources told Variety that the film could share some similarities with “Ted” but will center more on family fun. Marc Forster will direct the film.
The Little Mermaid recently released the trailer for their film and it looks quite a bit different. The movie will be based upon the Hans Christian Anderson version rather than Disney’s.
It follows the tale of a young girl who believes she has found the real little mermaid. She and her little brother travel to a small town to meet the mermaid.
Emma Stone will be playing Cruella de Vil in a 101 Dalmatians live action movie. The Hollywood Reporter said that the film is going to an origin story, like Maleficent.
Dumbo is set to begin filming this year and has a 2019 release date set. Tom Hanks is reportedly joining the film as the villain and Eva Green will also be in it. The film will be directed by Tim Burton, which suggests that the film could take a darker role.
There have also been Pinocchio rumors and a planned sequel to Maleficent. It seems that Disney has found a niche they aren’t quite ready to let go of.
Laina Yost
Managing Editor