The Lion King and Mulan aren’t the only high-profile reboots to gather pace at Disney; The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Guy Ritchie, director of Sherlock Holmes and Snatch, is in line to helm the live-action rendition of Aladdin for the House of Mouse.
First unearthed in the summer of last year, it’s understood that the studio’s latest modern redo boasts a script from Big Fish scribe John August while Dan Lin, best known for his work on The LEGO Movie at Warner Bros., is attached to produce. Ritchie, on the other hand, is coming off fantasy epic King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.
Dubbed an “ambitious and non-traditional take” on the beloved 1992 classic, THR notes that Disney’s overhaul of Aladdin will still retain many of the musical elements from the original, dancing to the same tune – no pun intended – as Jon Favreau’s wildly successful reboot of The Jungle Book.
Yes, if Maleficent and Cinderella jump-started the trend at Disney, The Jungle Book fired interest into the stratosphere, raking in close to $1 billion at the international box office. It’s not only sparked chatter of a sequel, but that barnstorming track record has resulted in a new collaboration between Favreau and Disney for The Lion King, which is perched slightly outside the studio’s tried-and-tested format in that it likely won’t feature any live-action sequences whatsoever.
As for Aladdin, it originally told the tale of a young Middle Eastern man granted three wishes by a magical genie (Robin Williams), and his brave efforts to fend off an evil sorcerer out to usurp those wishes for himself.
Next to tumble off that production line will be Beauty and the Beast, Bill Condon’s retelling of the serene fairytale that has been slated for theatrical release on March 17, 2017. Aladdin, meanwhile, is a ways away from entering development at Disney, but we’ll keep you posted as this story unfolds.