The Disney live-action remake train continues to chug down the tracks, pandemic be damned. The revamps of their animated classics have been a wild success so far, and fans are still buzzing about the next one up, Mulan, even with its release date being bumped back to July.
The latest live-action remake to be recently announced is Hercules, which is being produced by Marvel directing stalwarts Anthony and Joe Russo by their company AGBO, with a script by Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). In all four of the Marvel movies they’ve helmed thus far they’ve been true to the spirit of the original material but not beholden to it. Elements and certain beats have been borrowed from the comics, but Marvel has yet to directly adapt one intact comic book storyline yet. It’s made for better and more flexible storytelling in the movie medium.
Speaking to Collider, the Russos explained they’ll be handling Hercules with the same exact approach, with the live-action version being a loose adaptation rather than a literal translation of the original animated movie. It’s the same approach taken for Mulan, which is relying more heavily on the original, ancient ballad rather than the animated movie, as opposed to note-for-note remakes like Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King. While being very careful not to discredit those films or Disney’s direct adaptations, Anthony explained they weren’t interested in a literal translation:
“Well, I think you always have to bring something new to the table because from our perspective as storytellers, it’s not compelling for us to do a literal translation. We’ve already done that with our Marvel films. We don’t do literal translations of the comics because we feel like if you want that story you can go read that story. We’re going to give you a different story. I think we’ll do something that’s in the vein of the original and inspired by it, but we also bring some new elements to the table.”
It’s the right approach. The exact translations have been…fine. They’ve certainly made a ton of money. But there’s something so much more worthwhile and exciting about seeing how a team adapts an existing property while making it its own thing. Personally, I’ve been fascinated by how Mulan has heavily borrowed its visual cues and overall look from the animated original but blended it with the styles of kung-fu movies and war epics.
It will be interesting to see how Disney adapts a Greek epic story. Historically – or at least, recent history – movies that have tried to tackle the Greek pantheon haven’t fared so well. See, for example, Clash of the Titans and its sequel, Wrath of the Titans and Troy, which made solid amounts of money but weren’t terribly well-received – and I’m being kind in phrasing it that way in the case of the Titans movies. See also the 2014 Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson; the young Henry Cavill-led Immortals, a movie I personally love but few others seem to (and I understand why); and 300: Rise of an Empire, which was a pale imitation of its predecessor.
But this is Disney we’re talking about. If any studio can take the Greek epic and make it cool again, it’s them, especially with the Russos producing. It’s also been rumored that John Favreau is being eyed to direct. While he’s famously geeked-out over the technical aspects of directing the CGI “live-action” remakes of The Jungle Book and The Lion King, I really prefer to see what he does when he’s not beholden to a step-by-step remake. If it does end up being him behind the camera, let’s hope he brings some of the same ethos to Hercules that he did to The Mandalorian as creator and producer. If he does, Hercules could end up being one of the best live-action Disney remakes yet.
Add Mulan to your watchlist and we’ll tell you when tickets go on sale.
