Hardcore Disney fans weren’t left particularly impressed when Guy Ritchie was announced to be helming the live-action remake of beloved animated favorite Hercules, even though the filmmaker’s Aladdin had overcome early concerns over Will Smith’s Genie being the stuff of nightmares to haul in over a billion dollars at the box office.
Admittedly, the reviews weren’t unanimously positive, and the Mouse House faithful have also been questioning the involvement of Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame, and The Gray Man directors Joe and Anthony Russo as producers. Sure, the sibling duo might not be calling the shots from behind the camera, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t heavily involved in the process.
In fact, while speaking to GamesRadar, Joe Russo offered a smidgen of an update on Hercules, revealing that the updated version will pay tribute to its two-dimensional predecessor, while still putting a modern spin on the proceedings.
“It will certainly pay homage to the original with a more modern spin on it. What Anthony and I love about the original is how funny and subversive it is. I think we try to embrace that sense of humor in the remake.”
The director of Sherlock Holmes and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword teaming up with the writer of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Wonder Woman 1984 in a production being overseen by the brains behind Captain America: Civil War and Extraction is nothing if not a unique combination of talents to tackle a blockbuster reimagining, but Hercules has a long way to go to win over the doubters.
