Disney Cancels 6th Live-Action Remake, Signaling Major Strategy Shift

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As a movie enthusiast, I’ve got some news that might make fellow Disney lovers a bit disheartened. You know how Disney has been reimagining its classic animated films into live-action masterpieces? Well, it seems they’ve decided to put the brakes on yet another one of these remakes.

While movies like The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Jungle Book have certainly shone brightly, recent efforts such as Lilo & Stitch and Mufassa: The Lion King have also made a splash, with Lilo & Stitch even snatching the title of 2025’s highest-grossing Hollywood film.

However, it seems that not all live-action remakes are striking gold at the box office as hoped. In the last two years, Snow White and The Little Mermaid’s live-action adaptations failed to dazzle audiences with their high budgets, causing a ripple of concern among Disney faithful about the future of these transformative projects at the House of Mouse.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has decided not to proceed with the live-action version of the animated classic, The Aristocats. This is the sixth such adaptation that has been either cancelled or put on hold recently. The film was slated to be directed by multi-talented musician and filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who was also planning the music for this project, with a script from Will Gluck and Keith Bunin.

On “Score: The Podcast”, Questlove mentioned that Disney underwent several changes in leadership following which he had to repeatedly present his idea for “The Aristocats”. Eventually, he concluded, “Perhaps this isn’t my project,” but expressed interest in revisiting it once his schedule becomes less hectic, hinting at a potential future collaboration.

In a nutshell, the 1970 animated musical starts with a former opera singer bequeathing her wealth to her feline companion, Duchess, and her kittens. After being deserted in the countryside by a selfish butler who sought the fortune for himself, this band of cats embarks on a journey to return to their home – Paris.

The Aristocrats marks the latest among six live-action Disney remakes that have been recently halted, indicating a strategic shift at Disney.

Tangled

In simpler terms, it was announced that the 2010 Disney movie adaptation of Rapunzel, titled Tangled, might be recreated as a live-action version, with popular Marvel Cinematic Universe actors Florence Pugh and Kathryn Hahn being considered for key roles.

It appears that “Tangled” was being actively developed by director Michael Gracey, who also worked on “The Greatest Showman”, and co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson of “Thor: Love and Thunder”. However, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the development process came to a halt in April 2025 following the underperformance of “Snow White”, casting doubt on its future.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

In 2019, it was announced that a live-action musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” which has previously been adapted into the animated film, was in development. According to the report, Josh Gad, known for his role in “Frozen,” would be producing the project and potentially portraying the protagonist, Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer in the story.

The renowned composer, Alan Menken, shared with The Standard that the remake had been cancelled. He expressed a regretful sentiment, stating, “I wish it were still in progress.” Highlighting the deep and thought-provoking themes within the story, he suggested these could potentially be too intense for Disney.

Aladdin 2

According to a recent report by The DisInsider’s Skyler Shuler, it appears that Disney has temporarily put on hold three upcoming sequels for their live-action remakes, which includes the second installment of Aladdin.

In 2019, filmmaker Guy Ritchie generated over $1 billion for Disney with the movie “Aladdin,” featuring Will Smith and Mena Massoud. For a while, plans were underway for a follow-up, but it was not anticipated to mirror the animated direct-to-video sequels.

The Jungle Book 2

In much the same way, Jon Favreau’s direction led to a massive success with “The Jungle Book”, and a sequel was planned to reunite him with writer Justin Marks, aiming for a 2019 release. However, the continuation of Mowgli’s story has been delayed indefinitely and remains stalled for years.

In simple terms, since the original actor Neel Sethi who played Mowgli in the sequel is now too old for the 10-year-old role, a potential revival might require a new cast.

Maleficent 3

Angelina Jolie, who plays a leading role in the movie “Eternals”, has taken on the character of Maleficent, the villain from the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, not once but twice. These movies offer a fresh take on the story, focusing on Maleficent’s perspective and delving into her compassionate past. Originally, it was anticipated that Jolie would return to this role, but for now, plans for “Maleficent 3” appear to be temporarily stalled.

Is Disney Dialing Back on Live-Action Remakes?

It seems that the diverse responses and financial successes (or lack thereof) of these controversial live-action remakes have led Disney to reconsider their approach. As a result, they are planning to produce fewer adaptations in the future and temporarily postponing certain projects.

Disney continues to move forward with plans for live-action versions of “Moana” and “Hercules,” as well as a sequel to “Lilo & Stitch.” The upcoming “Moana” adaptation featuring Dwayne Johnson has already completed filming, set to be released on July 10, 2026. However, it appears that the ending of “Moana” is being altered in this new adaptation.

While Disney has temporarily paused or postponed six live-action remakes, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they will never get the treatment in the future. The studio may be reassessing their approach to these remakes following the controversy surrounding Snow White, and could choose to make a decision after the release of Moana before moving forward with any new projects.

Lilo & Stitch, even with one of Disney’s prominent brands supporting it, remarkably generated more than a billion dollars in earnings on a modest production budget of only $100 million. This is significantly lower than the budgets of many other remakes, which often exceed $200 million, making it challenging for them to earn substantial profits.

In the future, future adaptations might see their budgets significantly cut down to less than $200 million, as this could help minimize risk. Frankly, it’s a toss-up whether these contemporary live-action retellings will smash box office records or struggle to recoup their investments lately.

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2025-09-05 19:06