Disney’s live action Hercules remake will be ‘experimental and inspired by TikTok’

An upcoming live action remake of Disney’s Hercules will be “more experimental”, its producer has said.

Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War, will bring a new take of the animated musical to the big screen.

And teasing what to expect, Joe Russo shared with Variety: “We have an amazing relationship with them that we’ve built over a decade. 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.”

Saying 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.”

He explained: “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical. 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.”

Guy Ritchie is attached to direct having previously helmed Disney’s live-action Aladdin in 2019

Released in 1997, Hercules tells the story of son of Gods Hercules who is stripped of is immortality by Hades. In order to regain his godhood, he is forced to prove himself a hero using his godly strength.

The original film featured the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, James Woods and Susan Egan with songs by Alan Menken and David Zippel.

Alongside a live action adaption, a stage version of Hercules is also in development.

The premiere production took place at the open-air Delacorte Theater in New York’s Central Park in 2019. A new production will run at the Paper Mill Playhouse later in 2023 with Bradley Gibson, James Monroe Iglehart, Isabelle McCalla and Shuler Hensley on the cast.