Disney have cornered the market on live-action remakes based on classic animated films, and it’s now reached a point where the thought of any other studio trying to get in on the act would be viewed as a transparent attempt to jump on the bandwagon and mimic the formula that’s yielded well over $9 billion and counting for the Mouse House from theaters alone.
That being said, insider Daniel Richtman is claiming this week that Vin Diesel wants to mount a live-action stab at The Iron Giant, but that’s the beginning and end of his say on the matter, so what we’re left with is the tipster speculating on Warner Bros. investing what would no doubt be a massive amount of money, given the scope and scale of the 2D original, into an all-new version of a film that flopped at the box office more than 20 years ago after earning just over $31 million in theaters against a $50 million budget. Not to mention a title that doesn’t hold much cultural or nostalgic value with modern audiences.
Obviously, we should point out that Brad Bird’s directorial debut is rightfully lauded as one of the finest animated family films of the modern era, but it still didn’t make any money. Diesel did tease a potential sequel a few years back, as he tends to do with virtually everything he stars in, but that’s pretty much been all of the fresh Iron Giant talk we’ve heard in the last half a decade.
As such, it’s probably wisest to get the salt out for this one, especially when Warner Bros. have just been absorbed into a brand new conglomerate, which is likely going to result in any major announcements regarding upcoming blockbusters remaining thin on the ground until a fresh structure is put in place.
