Disney’s live action ‘Hercules’ will be inspired by TikTok.
Producer brothers Joe and Anthony Russo – who directed ‘Avengers: Endgame’ but don’t expect to work with Marvel “until the end of the decade” due to their independent studio AGBO – are teaming up with Disney on the Guy Ritchie-led reboot of the classic animated movie, which will also be a musical.
Speaking to Variety, Joe said: “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical.
“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.”
The original movie – which was helmed by ‘The Little Mermaid’ filmmakers John Musker and Ron Clements – reimagined the story of the Greek demigod and presented him as a celebrity rising to fame because of his heroic acts.
Although some of Disney’s recent live action remakes have been criticised for being too close to the originals, Joe has insisted that won’t be the case, with ‘Hercules’ promising to be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution”.
He added: “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.”
Ritchie is working on his own take on the screenplay by David Callaham, and Joe insisted the ‘Aladdin’ filmmaker is “perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation”, while the Russos are looking to build on their longtime partnership with Disney, who own the Marvel franchise.
He said: “We have an amazing relationship with them that we’ve built over a decade.
“I think we have a point of view on how they can stretch the limits of their IP moving forward, rather than playing IP management.”
