Guy Ritchie, who directed Disney’s “Aladdin” in 2019, is set to direct the upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1997 film “Hercules,” Variety has confirmed.
As Variety previously reported, “Avengers: Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo’s AGBO is producing the film being developed by Disney, which hired action specialist Dave Callaham to write a first draft. AGBO is in the process of hiring additional writers.
Ritchie most recently filmed an untitled action thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal. He wrote, directed and executive produced STX’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre,” which was scheduled for a release in the first few months of 2022 but has since been pushed back without an official release date set.
The deal was made by CAA. Ritchie exited the agency last month for WME. His attorney is Matt Saver.
The original animated “Hercules” was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker as a musical retelling of the Hercules legend, with music by Alan Menken. Tate Donovan voiced the lead role, alongside Susan Egan as his love interest, Megara, and James Woods as Hades, who kidnaps the demigod Hercules as a baby and forces him to live alongside mortals. Hercules is assisted by the satyr Philoctetes (Danny DeVito), who teaches him to use his superhuman strength to prove himself worthy of living among the gods on Mount Olympus.
Disney’s original “Hercules” film had an $85 million budget and raked in $252 million at the box office worldwide. It joined Disney predecessors including 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast,” 1992’s “Aladdin” and 1994’s “The Lion King,” which have all been remade as lucrative live-action films.
The Russo Brothers are currently gearing up for the July release of “The Gray Man,” an action thriller that is Netflix’s most expensive project date, with a budget of $200 million. They’ve directed a number of Marvel projects, with “Avengers: Endgame” smashing box office records and seeing $2.79 billion in global ticket sales worldwide.
Deadline was first to report the news of Guy Ritchie directing “Hercules.”
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