Justin Theroux (
The Spy Who Dumped Me) is reportedly nearing a deal to star in Disney's live-action/CG hybrid remake of the classic animated movie
Lady and the Tramp. According to
Collider, Theroux is in final negotiations to voice the lead male stray dog known as the Tramp. Larry Roberts voiced Tramp in the original movie back in 1955.
Unfortunately, there's no word on who will star opposite Theroux and voice the lead female dog, Lady. We do know, however, that Emmy-nominated actress Ashley Jensen (
Extras) will voice Jackie, a Scottish Terrier who is one of Lady's closest friends. In the original film, the character was a male dog named Jock.
For those unfamiliar with
Lady and the Tramp, it follows a pampered cocker spaniel named Lady whose cushy life with a refined, upper-middle-class family is thrown into a whirl when her owners have a baby. Finding herself loose out on the street, Lady meets the street-smart, stray mutt Tramp. They embark on an adventure together and their friendship eventually blossoms into a romance. Surely, you've seen the iconic spaghetti kiss scene. Charlie Bean (
The LEGO Ninjago Movie) is directing the movie with a script from Andrew Bujalski.
In an interesting twist, the
Lady and the Tramp live-action movie will not be releasing in theaters. Instead, it's currently being developed for Disney's streaming service. Skipping out on potential box office revenue (these live-action movies tend to do well in theaters) is definitely a risk for Disney, but in order to gain traction for its streaming service, it needs content. Hopefully, any subscribers its release results in will offset (and possibly exceed) any would-be revenue from a theatrical release.
Looking to launch in 2019, Disney is hoping to compete with Netflix and Hulu by offering its own catalog of original movies and television shows created specifically for the streaming service. Disney already has a ton of original programming planned, including the return of
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, live-action series for
Star Wars and
Marvel, and a ton more. All of this original programming will likely be bolstered by the already robust portfolio of Disney movies and shows from Lucasfilm, Marvel, Disney XD, Disney Channel, ABC, and more.
Do you plan on subscribing to Disney's streaming service when it launches in 2019?