Given Disney’s financial success remaking their animated classics, it’s no surprise that they’re looking to continue this strategy for years to come. Among the many live-action films currently in development is a reimagining of Atlantis: The Lost Empire and now it appears that the studio has zeroed in on who they want to play one of the main characters.
According to our sources – the same ones that told us a live-action remake of Bambi is in the works and a She-Hulk show is coming to Disney Plus, both of which turned out to be correct – Ryan Reynolds is currently being considered to take on the role of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke. Though nothing is set in stone as of yet, the addition of the 43-year-old leading man would certainly add a great deal of star power to the cast.
This is a project that could benefit from that kind of publicity, too, given that the original 2001 movie received mixed reviews from critics and disappointed at the box office. Disney had planned for the pic to be a huge blockbuster, spending somewhere between $90 to $120 million to pull off the ambitious endeavor. But when the film only ended up grossing $186 million, they were forced to pull the plug on the spinoff television series and underwater attraction at Disneyland that they were working on.
In the years since, however, the feature has garnered an impressive cult following. This is most likely why executives decided that now would be the perfect time to reintroduce the story to an audience of a new generation. Whether or not Reynolds signs on remains to be seen, but this is definitely something that fans are going to want to keep an eye on, especially since if they’re looking at the Deadpool actor, then they’re clearly aiming high when it comes to casting.
Tell us, though, are you excited for the live-action remake of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, or would you rather Disney focus more on original concepts? Sound off in the comments section and let us know what you think!
