Love them or hate them, Disney still appears to be determined to turn as many of its animated films into live-action remakes as possible. Some of the live-action remakes, like Cinderella (2015), Aladdin (2019), and Beauty and the Beast (2017), are loved by fans and considered good remakes. Others, like Dumbo (2019), Pinocchio (2022), and Lady and the Tramp (2019), didn’t go over quite as well and were panned by audiences. Most recently, Disney released the live-action remake, The Little Mermaid. The film has performed moderately well, making nearly $500 million at the box office.
Disney has already announced that it has several most live-action remakes in the works, including Lilo & Stitch, Hercules, Moana, and The Aristocats. A live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is slated to be released next year. However, it looks like one animated Disney film has found itself on the chopping block.
According to TheDisInsider, Disney CEO Bob Iger has scrapped plans for a live-action remake of the 1996 film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
“It is still mindful to take it with a grain of salt, now that Bob Iger is back in the driver’s seat it is highly unlikely that the project will move forward as Iger is not the biggest fan of Hunchback of Notre Dame and a remake isn’t in their list of priorities. Now things can obviously change but this is the most recent information we have on the project.”
The original animated film starred Tom Hulce as Quasimodo, Demi Moore as Esmeralda, Keven Kline as Phoebus, Tony Jay as Judge Claude Frollo, and Jason Alexander as Hugo. The film was not an immediate success, but is beloved by fans for its incredible music. The movie is also one of Disney’s darker stories, especially when it comes to the villainous Judge Frollo.
Back in May, Hunchback composer Alan Menken admitted that the remake was “in limbo” because of how difficult it was becoming to shape the story for a modern audience.
“It’s a tough one, because the Hunchback movie, Hunchback story involves a lot of real, real issues that are important issues and should be explored to be discussed. And there has to be an agreement about how we deal with those issues. You know, do we do a Hunchback without ‘Hellfire?’ I don’t think so … So it sits in this limbo right now…”
Disney announced its plans to remake The Hunchback of Notre Dame back in 2019. Frozen star Josh Gad was even signed on to produce. This is the second Gad project that has been canceled by Disney. Gad was also set to reprise the role of LeFou for a Disney+ spinoff of the live-action Beauty and the Beast. The project was called Little Town. Luke Evans would also be returning as Gaston. Sadly, a number of issues forced Disney to shelve the project.
