Disney's live-action adaptations of its animated classics have so far received something of a mixed response from moviegoers, with some memorable efforts (The Lion King and Cinderella, for example), and a few bad ones (this September's Pinocchio immediately springs to mind).
There's a tonne of excitement surrounding Hercules, though, especially with Aladdin director Guy Ritchie at the helm and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo set to produce. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings writer, David Callaham, meanwhile, has been tapped to write the script.
Talking to Variety (via SFFGazette.com), Joe says that fans of the 1997 fantasy musical can expect a movie that's "a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution."
"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 continued, adding that, "Guy is perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation."
Before worrying too much about these comments, it's worth noting that the animated Hercules was similarly experimental. Don't forget, it featured a phenomenal quintet of Black women serving as a Greek chorus, and those musical aspects are something Russo now hopes can be reimagined for a modern audience.
"There are questions about how you translate it as a musical," the filmmaker says. "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."
We're definitely intrigued to see what that means, and something tells us this take on Hercules will be nothing if not unique. Given how recent interpretations of that mythological character's story have been handled, something new is needed, and it sounds like that's exactly the plan with this live-action retelling.
Hercules doesn't currently have a release date.