Over the past several years, Disney has released numerous adaptations of its beloved animated classics. Some of the criticisms these remakes have faced is that they don't deviate enough from the source material.
The Lion King, for instance, was criticized for being a shot-for-shot remake of the original animated film. While it looked gorgeous visually, it didn't really bring anything new to the table besides CGI animation. The story, for better or worse, was pretty much the exact same.
With the upcoming live-action adaptation of Hercules, however, producers Joe and Anthony Russo plan to take a much different approach -- one that may or may not sit well with fans of the original film.
Speaking to Variety, Joe Russo explained that Hercules will be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution.”
Disney's animated version of Hercules, which was released back in 1997, is a musical comedy loosely based on the legendary story of the son of Zeus. A demigod with super-strength, Hercules is stolen as a baby by Hades and raised among mortals as a half-man, half-god. After discovering his family roots, Hercules must perform a rite of passage to prove himself a true hero and earn his place in Mount Olympus, all while his evil uncle Hades plots his downfall.
Like Disney's original film, the upcoming adaptation will also be a musical, although one more reflective of our current society. The Russos looked at current platforms for inspiration on how to best modernize the musical for today's audiences. Russo specifically cited TikTok as the platform that has helped shape audience's expectations of what a musical looks and feels like.
“There are questions about how you translate it as a musical,” Russo explained. “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.”
While I'm sure we're all familiar with TikTok as a platform, it's still a bit unclear as to what Joe Russo exactly means when he says his Hercules film will be inspired by it. Should we expect the Muses to perform soft hand choreography and sing in cursive? Will Hades be performing the Renegade dance?
All joking aside, the Hercules adaptation is actually in really good hands. Set to direct the movie is Guy Ritchie, who also helmed the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin. Although the film fared poorly among critics, it did boast an impressive 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“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,” Russo said. “Guy is perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation."
Interestingly, critics complained that Guy Ritchie's adaptation "retells its classic source material's story with sufficient spectacle and skill, even if it never approaches the dazzling splendor of the animated original."
Hopefully, his Hercules adaptation brings something new for audiences to enjoy.