Deadline is reporting that Guy Ritchie (Aladdin; Wrath of Man) has signed on to direct Walt Disney Pictures and AGBO's upcoming Hercules, a live-action adaptation of the 1997 classic animated film.
Further details are unavailable, but the studios are currently seeking a new screenwriter, following Dave Callaham (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) penning a first draft of the script.
Ritchie previously helmed Aladdin for Disney and it's no surprise the studio was keen to work with him again, after he delivered their third most-successful live-action adaptation ever, as the 2019 blockbuster grossed over $1.05 billion at the global box office ($355.5M domestic; $695.1M foreign).
Ritchie was already onboard to helm an Aladdin sequel, so it's unclear which of these two Disney titles will be a bigger priority. Outside of that, Ritchie has the Jason Statham-starrer Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre set to open later this year and recently wrapped The Interpreter with Jake Gyllenhaal. He's in pre-production on a television series based on The Gentleman and has announced another directorial venture The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.
As previously mentioned, The Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame; Avengers: Infinity War) are producing the feature under their AGBO banner. It's interesting the pair chose not to direct as they don't have anything lined up for 2023, at least as far as we know. They recently finished The Gray Man, which is due out on Netflix next month, and are in post-production on the Prime Video series Citadel, so they certainly could've taken the job, but it seems like they may be cooking up something else.