A planned live-action remake of Disney’s animated classic Robin Hood has been scrapped, according to its disheartened filmmaker.
Carlos López Estrada revealed during a recent Reddit AMA that the studio was not moving forward with his planned musical,
“It’s dead, sadly,” the Mexican filmmaker wrote in response to a fan asking for updates on the project. “I say ‘sadly’ because I actually thought there was something really special (and original!) there. Some truly extraordinary music we had figured out for it.”
Estrada added: “I keep daydreaming about doing it independently with different characters.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported in 2020 that Kari Granlund had been attached to write a script for the feature, a live-action and CGI hybrid.
Granland previously worked on the screenplay for Disney’s 2019 remark of Lady and the Tramp.
The animated Robin Hood was first released in 1973 and used anthropomorphic animals – with both the title character and his love interest, Maid Marian, as red foxes – to tell the tale of the heroic outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
Elsewhere during the Reddit AMA, Estrada spoke about his experience co-directing Disney’s 2021 animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon, calling working with the studio “so special and so hard”.
He noted that he was the first person of colour to lead the directing department in Disney’s history.
“Needless to say, I lasted only a few years there,” he said. “But they were really great years. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. But I do have some proper crazy Disney stories that I should share someday.”
Disney has been releasing a steady stream of live-action remakes of its animated titles, including Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Jungle Book and Mulan.
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A live-action version of the Rapunzel-inspired film Tangled is back in development, THR reports, after being paused following the underwhelming performance of Snow White at the box office last year.
Director Thomas Kail’s live-action remark of Moana will land in cinemas this summer, while Disney is also working on Guy Ritchie’s Hercules remake and a live-action spinoff of Beauty and the Beast villain Gaston.
The Gaston remake sparked confusion when reports it was in early development emerged last year.
“Is he misunderstood too? C’mon man, not all villains need a backstory, just let ‘em be a*******s,” one person wrote on X.
“Another pointless live-action cashgrab and somehow I’m more irritated at the fact they picked this mf of all Disney villains,” another critic said.
“Hades, sure, but who tf [is] pulling up to see Gaston?!”
Earlier this year, it was announced that the live-action remake ofTangled had cast lead characters Rapunzel and Flynn Rider with actors Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim, respectively.
