The old adage of what’s old is new again rings truer than ever these days, and that’s most evident with the Disney live-action remakes.
Disney has been rolling out remakes, sequels, and spinoffs of some of its most beloved animated films for over a decade. Alice in Wonderland’s release in 2010 was popular enough to lead to Alice Through the Looking Glass, Maleficent (a live-action Sleeping Beauty film from Maleficent’s point of view), and remakes of Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. As you might expect, there are lots more on the way.
These films are often under a microscope, as critics wonder if remaking the classics is even necessary. Some, especially 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, were critiqued for being too faithful to the originals or being little more than a cash grab by Disney; others are accused of straying too far from the original animated vision. Many pale when compared to the original.
But despite the skepticism and criticism, the Disney live-action remakes have been incredibly successful.
The Jungle Book won an Oscar for visual effects. Four of these remakes—Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Alice in Wonderland—have each made over a billion dollars worldwide. The Little Mermaid, released in 2023, has made over $500 billion worldwide, making it the ninth highest-grossing movie of the year; domestically, it’s no. 6.
Disney will dive deeper into its archives in the next few years. Some of the films have release dates and production teams, while others are still in the early planning phases. While some of the remakes are based on decades-old movies, at least one of the films in production comes only seven years after the original. But if these films continue their strong run, Disney will likely keep (re)making its catalog long into the future. (With much of Hollywood at a standstill, release dates could change at any given moment.)
Disney live-action remakes release schedule
1) Snow White | March 22, 2024
Snow White has been adapted across several mediums more times than we can count, but Disney is spearheading the latest attempt by remaking its oldest animated feature. Directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) with a script by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson, Disney’s remake stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
Disney has yet to release official images or a trailer for Snow White, but the film has already sparked controversy on several levels.
In 2022, actor Peter Dinklage criticized Disney for pursuing a Snow White remake, calling it a “backwards story” due to its depiction of the seven dwarf characters. Disney responded to Dinklage’s criticism, noting, “to avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.” Leaked set photos give people a glimpse of those characters, most of whom are not played by actors with dwarfism.
Zegler’s casting has also been controversial from the beginning. Some of the early responses were racist in nature, with some pointing to the description of Snow White’s skin in a fairy tale as to why she wasn’t suited for the part. But in recent months, Zegler has become the target of a right-wing culture war because of comments and light jokes about the original Snow White film: In an interview, Zegler highlighted the remake’s more feminist inclinations (common among many of the remakes featuring Disney Princesses) and that she only watched the film once as a kid because it scared her.
For many who already don’t like Zegler playing Snow White, her comments have been interpreted as being disrespectful toward the original Disney film and have only fueled backlash and the spread of false rumors that she’s been fired from the film. And because Zegler is on strike as a member of SAG-AFTRA and is barred from discussing any project she’s worked on, she’s unable to address that backlash, which is going unchecked online (though some of her fans are now loudly mocking it).
2) Mufasa: The Lion King | July 5, 2024
Barry Jenkins is following up on The Underground Railroad and If Beale Street Could Talk with a follow-up to Disney’s highly successful Lion King remake, which is set to be a prequel about Mufasa instead of picking up where the last film left off. Jeff Nathanson is writing the script.
Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and John Kani are reprising their Lion King remake roles as Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki, respectively. Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad and the upcoming sci-fi film Foe) will voice a young version of Mufasa, while Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier) will voice a young Scar.
According to footage shown at D23, the film’s story is framed as a story that Rafiki relays to young cubs, and Mufasa is an orphan who rose up to become king.
3) Moana | June 27, 2025
Many of Disney’s remakes arrived at least 20 years after the original, but Moana has the shortest span between animated and live-action yet. First announced in 2023, we’ll see a new version of Moana on the big screen just nine years after the original was released in 2016.
Thomas Kail is set to direct the new take on Moana, with Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as the exiled demigod Maui. Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the animated film, won’t reprise the role but is an executive producer on the project. Jared Bush (the original film’s screenwriter) will write the remake alongside Dana Ledoux Miller.
Disney live-action remakes with no release date
Several other sequels and Disney live-action are in the works, with no release dates attached to them. Some of them have cast stars, while others have only a director. Some are unlikely to appear anytime soon—if ever. We’ve included them below in alphabetical order for posterity.
1) The Aristocats
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Summer of Soul) is set to make his feature directorial debut by directing a live-action and animation hybrid remake of the 1970 film The Aristocats, with Will Gluck and Keith Bunin writing the script.
2) Bambi
Fresh off her Oscar win for Women Talking, Sarah Polley has been tapped to direct a Bambi remake. The film is in development, with Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster being credited with the most recent iteration of the script. Per Deadline, the film will be a musical, and Kacey Musgrave is working on the music.
Like The Lion King and The Jungle Book, the film will use photorealistic animation to bring the animal characters to life.
3) Hercules
Disney’s spin on one of the most famous figures in Greek mythology is being brought to life by director Guy Ritchie (Aladdin) and screenwriter Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi, Across the Spider-Verse). No casting has been announced yet.
4) Lilo & Stitch (Disney+)
Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell) is directing the newest take on Lilo & Stitch with a script written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright. No release date has been announced, but it’s set to be a Disney+ exclusive.
Before the WGA and SAG strikes, the film was in the middle of production in Hawaii.
Maia Kealoha is playing Lilo, while Chris Sanders will reprise his role from the animated films to voice Stitch. The supporting cast—which encompasses human roles and actors voicing alien characters—includes Billy Magnussen (who previously appeared in the live-action Aladdin and will voice Agent Pleakley), Zach Galifianakis (Dr. Jumba Jookiba), Courtney B. Vance (Cobra Bubbles), Tia Carrere (Mrs. Kekoa), Amy Hill (Tūtū), and a cameo from Jason Scott Lee (who voiced David in the original film).
But the casting hasn’t gone completely without a hitch. Disney was accused of colorism after casting Sydney Agudong as Lilo’s older sister Nani, and it quietly recast its David (a friend of Nani’s and her love interest in the original) after the actor’s Spotify accounts, where he used racial slurs, surfaced; Kaipo Dudoit is now playing that character.
5) Robin Hood (Disney+)
A remake of the 1973 animated film Robin Hood (aka the one with all of the talking animals) was announced in April 2020. Carlos López Estrada was hired to direct, with Kari Granlund (Disney+’s Lady and the Tramp remake) set to write the script. No updates have been announced since then.
6) The Sword in the Stone (Disney+)
In 2015, Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman was hired to write the script for a live-action remake of the 1963 film. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo was announced as the director in January 2018, with it being confirmed as a Disney+ original soon after.
No new updates have emerged since then, but there’s also no clear indication that the project was shelved.
