Disney is not ready to abandon its live-action princess strategy
The studio has spent more than a decade rebuilding its animated catalog for new audiences, producing billion-dollar successes alongside some of its most expensive disappointments. Recent releases have made that formula increasingly difficult to defend.
Snow White struggled commercially in 2025 after attracting criticism for its changes to the animated classic. Disney then moved in the opposite direction with Moana, closely recreating a film that remains widely available and is only a decade old.
The live-action Moana opened earlier this month with $43 million domestically and $95 million worldwide. That represented a weak start for a production reported to have cost approximately $250 million.
Despite those results, Disney is reportedly developing another live-action project connected to one of its animated princesses. This time, however, the studio may be attempting to avoid the remake problem altogether.
Disney Returns to Tiana With an Original Story
Colman Domingo is in talks to co-write an original live-action film inspired by The Princess and the Frog (2009), according to Deadline.
The two-time Academy Award nominee is expected to work with playwright and director Robert O’Hara. Agreements have not yet been finalized, meaning the proposed Tiana project remains in the earliest stages of development.
Unlike Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Little Mermaid (2023), and Moana (2026), the film is not expected to retell its animated predecessor.
Instead, it is reportedly being developed as a spin-off that expands the world surrounding Tiana. The approach has been compared to Disney’s proposed live-action Gaston project, which is also designed around a character and setting from an existing animated property.
That distinction could allow Disney to retain the recognizable characters and New Orleans atmosphere of The Princess and the Frog without asking a new cast to recreate the original movie scene by scene.
It would also give Domingo and O’Hara room to build a story around Tiana’s life beyond the events already depicted in animation.
Domingo has worked extensively as an actor, playwright, producer, and screenwriter. O’Hara is an established writer and theater director whose work includes both Broadway productions and original plays.
Their involvement suggests Disney may be seeking a more distinctive creative direction than the near-identical reconstruction that frustrated some critics of Moana.
Released in 2009, The Princess and the Frog follows Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a New Orleans waitress determined to save enough money to open her own restaurant.
After kissing the cursed Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), Tiana is transformed into a frog. The pair travels through the Louisiana bayou while searching for a way to become human again.
The film earned approximately $267 million worldwide against a reported $105 million budget. It also received three Academy Award nominations, including two for its original songs.
Tiana became Disney’s first Black princess, while her ambition and restaurant plans distinguished her from several earlier Disney heroines.
The film nevertheless attracted criticism. Some viewers objected to Disney’s first Black princess spending much of her debut as a frog, while others questioned its use of Louisiana Voodoo and its limited treatment of race in 1920s New Orleans.
Tiana Becomes Disney’s Alternative to Another Remake
Disney has repeatedly attempted to extend Tiana’s story since the original film left theaters.
An animated Disney+ series was announced in 2020 and was expected to continue her story after she became a successful restaurant owner. Disney Animation later abandoned the long-form project in 2025 while reducing its commitment to serialized streaming productions.
A shorter animated special was announced as a replacement, although Disney has provided few public updates about its progress.
The company has expanded Tiana’s presence more visibly inside its theme parks. Tiana’s Palace opened at Disneyland in 2023, bringing the character’s restaurant to New Orleans Square.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure then replaced Splash Mountain at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in 2024. Rather than repeating the film, the attraction continues Tiana’s story as she prepares for a Mardi Gras celebration and searches the bayou for musicians.
Although the replacement generated controversy among some Disney fans, the attraction gave Tiana a prominent role in two of the company’s American parks.
A live-action spin-off would provide another opportunity to develop the character without remaking the animated film directly.
That approach arrives as Disney faces renewed questions about its wider remake strategy.
Snow White finished with approximately $206 million worldwide against a reported $269 million production budget. The film was criticized for altering familiar elements while also failing to establish a convincing new identity.
Moana encountered the opposite complaint. Critics argued that the remake followed the 2016 movie too closely, giving audiences little reason to pay for another version of a story already available on Disney+.
The studio now faces the same balancing act with its forthcoming live-action Tangled. Early images have shown Rapunzel and Flynn Rider wearing costumes that closely resemble their animated designs, although Disney has not revealed how heavily the film will follow the original plot.
A Tiana spin-off could offer a third route. Disney can capitalize on the recognition surrounding The Princess and the Frog while avoiding direct comparisons between two versions of the same scenes, performances, and songs.
The project could also allow Tiana to remain human for more of the story, addressing one of the most persistent complaints surrounding her animated debut.
For now, the movie is far from guaranteed. Domingo and O’Hara are still reportedly negotiating their involvement, while no director, cast, production schedule, or release date has been announced.
Still, Disney’s decision to explore another Tiana project is significant. Following the cancellation of her Disney+ series and the disappointing performances of Snow White and Moana, an original live-action story may represent the studio’s clearest attempt to keep its princess catalog alive without producing another conventional remake.
What do you think of Disney’s reported live-action Tiana project?
