Fortnite’s Next Collab Is One of the Best Disney Movies From the 1990s

Despite Epic Games’ recent struggles with active Fortnite player retention — an issue that prompted the company to lay off over a 1000 employees — the company is still moving forward with some of its ambitious multimedia crossovers. This extends to Disney, one of the world’s most recognizable companies. Disney purchased a major stake in Epic Games in 2024, with plans for a larger digital Disney universe inside Fortnite that could serve as a digital marketplace for both companies.

Those plans are reportedly still moving forward despite Epic Games’ recent stumbles. In the meantime, that collaboration has already seen franchises that fall under the Disney umbrella (such as Star Wars and Marvel) make their way to the game. Now it looks like a fan favorite animated Disney title is set to follow suit, and it’s actually a pretty fitting pick.

Fortnite Seems To Be Doing A Crossover With Disney’s Hercules

Debuting in 1997 as part of the “Disney Renaissance” of animated feature films in the 1990s, Hercules adapts the ancient Greek legend and filters it through both the superhero and sports movie genres. While the film wasn’t as acclaimed or beloved as the likes of Beauty & the Beast or The Lion King, Hercules has carved out a consistent place among fans who were drawn to the distinctive art style, witty writing, and surprisingly mature characterization of archetypical roles — especially the love interest Megara, who comes across as a much more world-weary and complex figure than most supporting characters in this genre.

The movie’s lighter tone and multiple massive battles make it a natural pick to port over to the world of Fortnite, especially when compared to other Disney characters like Mickey Mouse or Elsa from Frozen. According to the Epic-partnered ShiinaBR, the next additions to the game will include the titular Hercules, Megara, and the villainous Hades as playable characters. The crossover will also likely include new Hercules-inspired items and weapons, which could further underscore that connection. At the time of writing, it’s unclear how far that crossover will go, up to and including guest appearances by the original voice actors. The original voices of those three characters — Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, and James Woods — have reprised the roles in video games before, like the Kingdom Hearts series. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them return to voice the characters in Fortnite.

Disney’s Big Epic Games Investment Could Make (Or Break) Fortnite’s Future

The Hercules announcement is a fun one, which is a nice change for Epic Games following the negative publicity that has come with their recent staffing decisions. With some senior members of the Fortnite team formally leaving Epic Games, many have been curious what it means for the future of the free-to-play behemoth — especially as the issues were brought on because the game is reportedly losing active players at too quick a rate. 2025 was reportedly a rough year for the game (and live-service titles across the board), which raised some serious questions about the stability of the game following Disney’s massive investment.

However, Disney allowing some of its animated characters into the game could be seen as an enduring show of confidence in the title. While Disney content has appeared in the game before, players getting to actually run around as Hercules — or, as other rumors have pointed to, Woody and Buzz from Toy Story — speaks to their confidence in the title to still appeal to younger audiences. Disney’s investment in Epic Games is part of a larger push by the company to reconnect with younger male audiences, a demographic that they’ve been steadily losing in recent years. Disney’s backing could be the key to Fortnite‘s future, as the company could increasingly tie its own titles and business into the game.

If Disney is able to make Fortnite and the rest of Epic Games a part of their overall brand identity, then they have a real connection to the world of gaming, thanks to not just Fortnite but also commonly used game development tools like Unreal. Disney-backed crossovers (like last year’s inclusion of The Simpsons) could also bring more eyes back onto the game, helping deal with the dropping player count. However, if those larger partnerships are partly to blame for Fortnite‘s stumbles, then a string of new Disney crossovers could only exacerbate the situation. It’ll be interesting to see how the Hercules drop works for Fortnite and if it opens the door to more Disney/Fortnite crossovers.