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Disney: All the live-action remakes in development from Snow White to Moana

Disney's mission to remake its beloved animated library continues

Moana, Snow White and Peter Pan are all getting the live action treatment from Disney. (Disney)
Moana, Snow White and Peter Pan are all getting the live action treatment from Disney. (Disney)

It's been over 10 years now since Disney doubled down on rebooting their classic animated films into live-action epics.

Ignoring the Glenn Close Dalmatians movies, the real guinea pig in the experiment was 2010's Alice in Wonderland, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The film ended up grossing over $1 billion which explains why Disney has released one of his live-action versions every year since 2014.

Some of the most storied tales in Disney's canon have received the reboot treatment. Sometimes, it's a straight retelling as it was with Cinderella or The Little Mermaid, or the reboot serves as an origin story as was the case with Cruella starring Emma Stone.

Read more: Every Star Wars movie in development

While Disney's continued reboots has been met with criticism for their lack of creativity and often inferiority to the original, the movies have continued to be popular with audiences with Dwayne Johnson recently announcing that he will be starring in a live-action remake of Moana, just seven years afer the animated film was released.

Moana is just the latest in a large stack of live-action remakes Disney have ready to serve fans. Read on to find out about all the upcoming remakes.

Snow White | 22 March, 2024

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 09: (L-R) Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot pose at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022 at Anaheim Convention Center on September 09, 2022 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb)
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot pose at the IMDb Official Portrait Studio during D23 2022. (Getty Images for IMDb)

The jewel in Disney's vast crown, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the company's first full-length animated feature and has largely been left alone by the corporation in the nearly 90 years since its release.

Coming in 2024, Snow White is finally getting the official Disney live-action treatment (Kristen Stewart's Hunstman movies were released by Universal) with filming having already wrapped. Rachel Zegler plays Snow White while Gal Gadot is the Wicked Witch.

With Greta Gerwig co-writing the script, there's hope Snow White can be done justice.

Mufasa: The Lion King | 5 July, 2024

Featuring the voices of James Earl Jones as Mufasa and JD McCrary as Young Simba. (Disney)
Featuring the voices of James Earl Jones as Mufasa and JD McCrary as Young Simba. (Disney)

After The Lion King was a huge success in 2019, Disney greenlit an origin story focussed on Simba's father. What's most interesting about the film is that it's being directed by Barry Jenkins, one of the finest filmmakers in the world.

British actor Aaron Pierre has been cast as the young Mufasa, while Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani will reprise their roles as Pumbaa, Timon, and Rafiki.

Hercules | TBC

'Hercules'. (Credit: Disney)
Hercules is getting a live action remake. (Disney)

Guy Ritchie previously dipped his toe into Disney's live-action waters with his version of Aladdin and they're reteaming once again to give 1997's Hercules a modern update.

Read more: The Disney film that will never be on Disney+

Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo will produce the film for Disney through their AGBO banner, with Joe teasing that the remake will be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution,” and will be a musical.

Aladdin 2 | TBC

Will Smith and Mena Massoud in Aladdin (Credit: Disney)
Will Smith and Mena Massoud in Aladdin (Disney)

2019's Aladdin grossed over $1 billion at the box-office so it's only natural Disney would want to continue telling these stories.

Disney had ordered a script from the Oscar-nominated Andrea Berloff, and Will Smith had been linked with returning as Genie, but star Mena Massoud recently said the film is "unlikely" to happen.

Cruella 2 | TBC

Emma Stone as Cruella in Disney’s live-action CRUELLA. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2021 Disney Enterprises Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Emma Stone in Cruella. (Disney)

Though Cruella was hit hard by Covid-19, the 101 Dalmatians spin-off film was warmly received, especially Emma Stone's performance as the notorious dog killer.

Stone has officially signed on for a sequel and Emma Thompson has said she is eager to return to her evil role as the Baroness.

Prince Anders | TBC

Billy Magnussen in Aladdin (Disney)
Billy Magnussen in Aladdin. (Disney)

There was much controversy over the inclusion of the white Prince Anders in Aladdin given the film's Middle Eastern setting and was a character created especially for the movie. Played by Billy Magnussen, Anders is in line for his own movie which is being eyed for streaming on Disney+.

The Aristocats | TBC

LES ARISTOCHATS THE ARISTOCATS 1970 de Wolfgang Reitherman Prod DB © Walt Disney Productions dessin anime; animation; cartoon
A still from 1970's The Aristocats. (Disney/Alamy)

A recent announcement by Disney said that Questlove will be making his feature film directing debut with a remake of 1970's The Aristocats which will be a hybrid of live-action and animation.

The Oscar-winner who is also the co-founder and drummer of hip-hop group The Roots will also be overseeing music on the film.

Lilo & Stitch | TBC

LILO, STITCH, LILO and STITCH, 2002
A still from 2002's Lilo and Stitch. (Disney/Alamy)

Disney recently cast unknown child star Maia Kealoha as Lilo, a girl who becomes best friends with an alien experiment, for the live action remake of the 2002 film. Comedian Zach Galifianakis has also been cast but it has not been announced what role he will play.

Read more: Everything we know about Frozen 3

Lilo & Stitch will be directed by Dean Fleischer Camp who was recently Oscar nominated for directing Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

Moana | 27 June, 2025

Moana Easter eggs revealed by Disney (exclusive)
Moana and Maui. (Disney)

There's no stopping Dwayne Johnson. He starred in the animated smash that was Moana and now he's leading the cast of the live-action adaptation too.

Just seven years after the release of the widely popular film, Disney is reimagining the film with Johnson in need of a hit after a few recent flops.

Bambi | TBC

Bambi  Bambi & Thumper
Bambi Bambi & Thumper

Keep your tissues handy because Disney’s animated classic Bambi is also on the slate for a live-action remake. After winning an Oscar for Women Talking in early 2023, Deadline reported that filmmaker Sarah Polley was in talks to direct, with the project currently in the early stages of development.

As with most other Disney live-action remakes, we can likely expect Bambi’s venture into the real world to stick closely to the plot of the studio’s 1942 original. That means, we’ll once again have to endure the heartbreaking sequence of Bambi losing his father. Thanks, Walt!

Watch: Dwayne Johnson announces live action Moana