A few days ago Disney released the teaser trailer of the new live action movie “The Beauty and the Beast“: it was an immediate success and we can’t wait to see the first trailer and…of course the full-movie which will be spectacular, it’s a given!
So, carried away by the enthusiasm, we did some digging and we found out all the other live action movies that Disney will release in the next few years!
We can certainly say that, after the success of “Alice in Wonderland“, “Maleficent” and “Cinderella”, we are starting to see a pattern, a more than welcomed one; Disney is bringing our fairy tale dreams to life, so even though we are all grown-ups now (well, kind of) we just love to see our favorite Disney characters brought back to the screen by actors and actresses that don’t just lend their voices anymore.
Let’s have a look to whom we will pretty soon see in flesh and bone:
THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (17th of March, 2017)
We begin our “stroll” down the fairy tale road with the latest hit: the epic love story whose most famous version was written in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, was the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (it didn’t win the category, but it did go home with the Oscars for best Original Song and Best Original Score). The teaser was released just a few days ago and it went and broke the internet, and it has also outdone the trailer of the last Star Wars.
With 98,8 millions views on the first 24 hours, the teaser trailer is the most seen in the history.
After the first glimpse, there is nothing but excitement: the set is identical to the original animated picture.
In Belle’s shoes we’ll see the splendid Emma Watson, Luke Evans is the pompous Gaston and Dan Stevens will be the Beast. Also part of the stellar cast: Stanley Tucci (Cadenza), Ewan McGregor (Lumière), Ian McKellen (Cogsworth) and Emma Thompson (Mrs Potts).
MARY POPPINS: THE SEQUEL (TBD)
Insiders confirm the new movie will take place in London during the Depression-era, 20 years after the first Marry Poppins’ adventure. The story will focus on Poppins’ adventures with the Banks family.
The original 1964 film starred Julie Andrews: it was a huge hit, earning $100 million at the box office, and five Oscars, including the one for best actress.
Rob Marshall will direct the movie and the new Mary will be the beautiful and talented Emily Blunt.
PINOCCHIO (TBD)
There are two “Pinocchio” adaptations floating around Hollywood at the moment. The one by Guillermo del Toro that has been in development on a surreal stop-motion feature for years, and the Disney’s which is being written by Susan Downey in collaboration with her husband Robert Downey Jr. who would star as Geppetto and directed by Ben Stiller.
PETE’S DRAGON (12th of August, 2016)
The film is the remake of the story about an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, a giant lovable dragon. Starring young actor Oakes Fegley as the new Pete, we will also see Bryce Dallas Howard, Robert Redford, Karl Urban, and Wes Bentley. Fortunately we won’t have to wait much longer to see it: August is coming!!
CRUELLA (TBD)
After making a movie centered on Maleficent, the villainess from “Sleeping Beauty”, Disney is setting its sights on another bad lady: Cruella de Vil.
She is the villain who was obsessed with capturing the dalmatians to make clothes out of them in the 1961 animated classic. In the 1996 live-action film version produced by John Hughes, Glenn Close played the evil fashion house owner Cruella.
This time Emma Stone will portray the iconic Disney villainess in the movie “Cruella”.
The project, Disney’s live-action re-imagining of the “101 Dalmatians” character, has no director yet but it is a priority for the studio which is hoping to start shooting the film later this year.
DUMBO (TBD)
Tim Burton will be directing the live action movie of “Dumbo”, an interesting (but not so surprising) choice!
The new film involves the adaptation of the original movie plus a unique family story that parallels Dumbo’s story. It’s not yet to be known when this movie will be happening.
MULAN (2019)
The Hollywood Reporter announced that the “Mouse House” is working on a live-action retelling of Mulan, based on its 1998 animated film which itself refers to the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, a female warrior.
Now we can add “Mulan” to the list of popular animated Disney films that are getting a live-action redo, presumably in 2019.
“Mulan” is a great opportunity to highlight not only a female lead, but a Chinese one, adding diversity to the blockbuster climate.
THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 (TBD)
Director Jon Favreau and writer Justin Marks will return for the sequel. It became inevitable when the previous film earned over $500 million in its first two weekends: the film’s success encouraged Disney to continue with the sequel.
Also Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) will be on board as a producer.
TINKER BELL (TBD)
The movie, written by Victoria Strouse (writer of “Finding Dory”) will star Reese Witherspoon as the little and touchy Tinker Bell. Indiscretions say that it will be a prequel.
The latest take on Tinkerbell is said to “play with the idea and timeline of the well-known Peter Pan narrative,” and will take the angle of telling “the story you don’t know” a la “Maleficent”, said Collider.
THE SWORD IN THE STONE (19th of October 2018)
With the strategy of remaking the animated classics into live-action movies, Disney is also developing a “Sword in the Stone” with “Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman writing the script.
The 1963 animated pic followed a 12-year-old orphan named Arthur who becomes king after removing a sword from an anvil in London.
DISENCHANTED (TBD):
Maybe this is one of the biggest revelations , Walt Disney Pictures has a new working title: Disenchanted, the sequel for the famous and beloved Enchanted.
The princess Giselle (Amy Adams) and her beau Robert (Patrick Dempsey) will be in the cast and again they will be directed by Anne Fletcher.
MALEFICENT 2 (9th of May, 2017)
Angelina Jolie will return as Maleficent in the sequel to Disney’s 2014 $758 millions box-office smash, even though it had received middling reviews especially by the ones who wanted to maintain the evil character.
Screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who worked on the first film, will return for the sequel.
THE LITTLE MERMAID (TBD)
Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is an 1837 fairy tale that sees a little mermaid living in an undersea kingdom with her king father, her grandmother, and her five sisters. When mermaids come of age, they’re granted the freedom to swim to the surface and observe the world above; then they shall return home to share their observations with the family. The Little Mermaid gets her chance to see the surface world and soon falls in love with a handsome prince whom she saves from drowning.
Universal is developing a live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, and nearly six months after Sofia Coppola left the director’s chair due to creative differences, the studio has found a new filmmaker: the director Rebecca Thomas (Looking for Alaska). But word on the streets says that also Disney has put its eyes on it, well, there is nothing to do but wait and see who’ll make it first…and better!
Chloe Grace Moretz will be the “under the sea” redhead mermaid for the Universal production.
PETER PAN (TBD)
David Lowery, the director of the remake of Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” will also do the live-action adaptation of “Peter Pan”. Toby Hallbrooks is writing the script.
No more news transpired from the project.
Something that we truly like and that is not to be missed is the fact that also characters that used to be secondary ones are getting their “big shot” to be the leading one.
What do you think of all these upcoming Disney live-action movies? Which is the one you are going to countdown for? 🙂
Credits: Disney, Collider, Vogue.
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