Disney’s live action Hercules will be a response to criticism of previous remakes being too similar to their animated counterparts.
Joe Russo has been chatting about the new version of Hercules, the latest Disney animated classic to get the live action treatment.
Disney’s continual raiding of its animated vault to make live-action movies has made the company a lot of funds, so despite criticism from various quarters it is a practice that is bound to continue. One of those areas of negative response has been focused around how the remakes slavishly follow the plot of the originals, often sparking the question as to why they are being made at all.
The Russo Brothers are producing the Hercules remake under their AGBO production banner and Joe Russo has been chatting to Variety about how their long-standing relationship with Disney (through years of making Marvel films) means that they are being given the studio’s trust to do things a little differently.
Russo also praised the project’s director, Guy Ritchie for his willingness to experiment and as such, it looks like Tik Tok of all things, will be a direct influence on the film:
“We have an amazing relationship with them that we’ve built over a decade,” said Russo. “I think we have a point of view on how they can stretch the limits of their IP moving forward, rather than playing IP management. 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 perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation … that can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”
Russo would go on to say that adapting Marvel comic book sagas in ways that were fresh for movie audiences had given them the confidence to take this approach.
We’d imagine that this news might divide fans of the original film but as always, judgement should be reserved until it makes its debut in the world. Russo would also talk about a few other things, including calling Warner Bros’ scrapping of Batgirl an act of “corporate sociopathy.’ Strong words, but ones that clearly reflect the anger that is still emanating from Hollywood’s creatives about the unjust cancellation of something that was painstakingly crafted through the hard work of so many people. We’ll bring you more on Hercules as we hear it.
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