Every Disney Remake in the Works After The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid is part of that world of Disney remakes. The live-action re-imagining of the 1989 animated movie swam into theaters over Memorial Day weekend, marking the studio’s second animated-to-live-action adaptation this year after Disney+’s Peter Pan & Wendy. Ever since 2010’s Alice in Wonderland launched its modern crop of retellings, Disney has gone back down the rabbit hole with reinventions of such classics as Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pinocchio. 

Disney’s slate includes a dozen more remakes (or their sequels) in various stages of development, which are listed below. To quote another upcoming live-action adaptation: “You’re welcome!”

Upcoming Disney Remakes

Snow White

Someday, my Snow White remake will come — and that day is March 22nd, 2024. Directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and written by Greta Gerwig (Barbie) and Erin Cressida Wilson (The Girl on the Train), the live-action musical adaptation of Walt Disney’s 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs stars Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) in the titular role and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) as the Evil Queen.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Disney returns to Pride Rock in Mufasa: The Lion King. The prequel to 2019’s photo-realistic remake of The Lion King is the story of future King Mufasa (Old‘s Aaron Pierre, replacing James Earl Jones) and his scheming brother Scar (The Trial of the Chicago 7‘s Kelvin Harrison Jr., replacing Chiwetel Ejiofor), revealing Mufasa’s origins as an orphaned cub-turned-king of the Pride Lands. Oscar-winning Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins directs the follow-up to Jon Favreau’s Lion King.

Lilo & Stitch

Disney+ is taking subscribers on a Hawaiian roller coaster ride in Lilo & Stitch. The live-action adaptation of the 2002 animated movie stars Maia Kealoha as the offbeat Lilo, who adopts the alien Experiment 626 named Stitch (original voice actor Chris Sanders) into her ohana. Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcell the Shell with Shoes On) is directing the Disney+ Original movie featuring Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover) as the voice of Stitch’s creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba; Billy Magnussen (Aladdin) as the voice of Agent Pleakley; and Courtney B. Vance (Project Power) as the (human) social worker Cobra Bubbles.

Hercules

Guy Ritchie, who directed Disney’s 2019 live-action Aladdin, is adapting 1997’s Hercules with an “experimental” take on the animated musical about the titular demigod’s transformation from zero to hero. Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame) are producing the new version that the brothers have described as “something that’s in the vein of the original and inspired by it.”

Hunchback

The Bells of Notre Dame will ring again in Hunchback. Disney has been developing the live-action retelling of 1996’s Hunchback of Notre Dame since 2019, tapping David Henry Hwang (The Affair) to script what has been described as an adaptation of the animated movie and the Victor Hugo novel. Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music for the original movie, are returning for the live-action version produced by Josh Gad (Frozen), David Hoberman (Monk), and Todd Lieberman (Disney+’s Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers).

The Sword in the Stone

Also in the works for Disney+ is The Sword in the Stone, bringing to life the story of the future King Arthur as told in the 1963 animated movie. The planned live-action adaptation of Sword has been lodged in Excalibur: originally announced in 2015, it hasn’t budged since re-entering development as a straight-to-streaming movie in 2018. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Damsel) is attached to direct a script from Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones).

Cruella 2

After Cruella scared up a fashionable $233 million at the box office despite its simultaneous Premier Access release on Disney+ in 2021, Disney ordered a sequel reteaming director Craig Gillespie and star Emma Stone as femme fatale fashionista Estella, who becomes the infamous Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmatians. The untitled Cruella sequel remains in development.

Aladdin: Prince Anders

Make way, here he comes!Ring bells, bang the drums! You’re gonna love this guy! Prince… Anders? Fans may be wishing for an Aladdin 2, but in 2019, Disney announced an original spin-off focused on dim-witted Skånland Prince Anders, a suitor who tries to win Princess Jasmine’s (Naomi Scott) hand in the live-action retelling of the 1992 animated movie. Billy Magnussen will reprise his role in the Disney+ Original movie that reportedly remains in development at the streamer. 

Bambi

In 2020, it was reported that Disney was developing a photo-realistic remake of 1942’s Bambi akin to 2016’s The Jungle Book and 2019’s The Lion King. This “live-action” adaptation bringing Bambi, Thumper, Flower, and the rest of their forest friends to life as CG-animated animals hails from writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) and Lindsey Beer (Chaos Walking).

Robin Hood

Oo-De-Lally! A live-action/CG hybrid Robin Hood, a remake of the 1973 film, was revealed to be in the works at Disney+ in 2020. Carlos Lopez Estrada (Blindspotting) will direct the retelling written by Kari Granlund (2019’s Lady and the Tramp remake) and produced by Justin Springer (2019’s live-action Dumbo). Robin Hood will be the sixth straight-to-Disney+ remake after Lady and the Tramp, Pinocchio, Peter Pan & Wendy, Lilo & Stitch, and The Sword in the Stone.

The Aristocats

Everybody wants to be a cat — and a remake. In March, Grammy and Oscar-winning filmmaker and musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson signed on to direct a live-action remake of The Aristocats, the jazzy 1970 animated movie that featured the voices of Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, and Scatman Crothers. Will Gluck (Peter Rabbit) and Keith Bunin (Pixar’s Onward) wrote the script for what will mark Thompson’s narrative feature debut.

Moana

Setting sail in 2026 is Moana, a live-action remake of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2016  CG-animated movie that starred Auliʻi Cravalho as the adventurous, sea-faring daughter of Motunui’s chief and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the shape-shifting demigod Maui. Johnson will reprise his role and produce the Moana remake with his Jumanji and Jungle Cruise producers Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Beau Flynn (Johnson’s Red Notice and Black Adam).