Back in 2020, just weeks before the pandemic hit, Deadline Hollywood confirmed that Disney was actively working on a new story in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids franchise. The show would bring back Rick Moranis as Professor Wayne Szalinski! Moranis stepped away from Hollywood after his wife passed away from breast cancer in 1997, and he needed to raise his children. However, Moranis stepped back into the Hollywood spotlight when he starred alongside Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds in a commercial for Mint Mobile. The show would be Moranis’ first big Hollywood role in decades.
In addition to Moranis, Shrunk was set to have Beauty and the Beast star Josh Gad play a now-grown Nick Szalinski. Joe Johnston, who directed the original film, was also reportedly coming back to helm the new movie. However, it has been several years since we learned about the film, but it doesn’t appear that anything will be happening in the near future.
Josh Gad recently tweeted about the movie, saying that between COVID, scheduling, and budgeting, the film has been put on indefinite pause. But he said that there is still hope, if fans get involved.
A lot of u ask me what’s going on with this film. Truth is, we were inches from starting and then COVID hit, inches from starting again & then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches from starting again & budget got the best of us. If you want it, let your local @disney know.
A lot of u ask me what’s going on with this film. Truth is, we were inches from starting and then COVID hit, inches from starting again & then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches from starting again & budget got the best of us. If you want it, let your local @disney know. pic.twitter.com/H5l24DQyoU
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) June 26, 2023
According to Deadline, Shrunk was to tell the story of a grown Nick Szalinski, who wants to be a scientific investor, just like his dad. Unfortunately, like his dad, Nick can’t get his shrink-ray machine just right and accidentally shrinks his children. He then must team up with his dad to get them back to full size.
Disney had planned to release Shrunk in theaters, but that seems unlikely to happen now. However, Disney can still look to another popular platform if it wants to make the film. Disney+ has been a great way for Disney to release hit movies. Last September, Disney released the highly anticipated sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, and it was the most successful film on the streamer to date.
