After the bumper success of Beauty and the Beast, Disney appears determined to give the live-action treatment to every single one of their animated classics. 2019 alone has seen Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King hit cinemas, with Lady and the Tramp and Mulan landing very soon. Beyond that, we know they’re working on adaptations of The Little Mermaid, The Sword in the Stone, Pinocchio, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Lilo & Stitch. But, there’s a couple of notable animated classics that we haven’t heard much about, with the most interesting one being Hercules.
A live-action adaptation of the 1997 movie feels like a no-brainer, and though the previous frontrunner for the lead role was Alexander Skarsgard, I’ve seen hints that they’re in negotiations to cast Trevor Donovan instead. Donovan, best known for 90210, has been not-so-subtly hinting on social media that something’s going on and in response to a Twitter post wondering if they forgot to make a Hercules announcement at D23, Donovan replied:
“Well, kinda sorta… we’re just not supposed to say anything. “
Though it’d be early days yet for the project, you can’t deny that Donovan certainly has the right appearance for Disney’s take on the character. Ideally, this would combine strength and matinee idol looks with a cocky over-confidence attitude, which Donovan can easily achieve.
A live-action Hercules is probably an inevitability at this point, so we’ll keep our ear close to the ground for any further news on the project. However it turns out though and whoever ends up playing the hero, at least it’ll be better than 2014’s disappointing adaptation, which somehow managed to screw up Dwayne Johnson in the role.
In fact, if it weren’t for that film, I’d imagine Johnson would have been a frontrunner for this one. But as it is, let’s keep an eye on Donovan’s social media for more hints over the next few weeks.