Disney dreams of turning its unexpected and soulless disappointment into the next ‘Star Wars’ franchise
Photo courtesy of Lucasfilm
Disney hasn’t exactly tasted success when it comes to live-action remakes of its animated classics. Yes, most of them have done well at the box office, but they failed to impress the critics and failed to get unanimous approval from the audience. But apparently, the dollars they’re still churning out are enough for Disney to hope that one of its divisive live-action remakes has the potential to be their next one. Star wars licensing.
In conversation with The New York TimesDisney head of production Sean Bailey, who has helmed the Mouse House “reimagining” of its animated films in the past, spoke at length about the studio’s strategy for live-action remakes – though – but The Little Mermaid again–they proved that Disney is in no rush to revive the success of its winning solo remake. While I expect Disney to continue to incorporate realism into his classic – Moana is already getting a remake even though it’s not old enough to be called a classic – until now, the company has steered clear of expanding on the repackaged stories. But it seems that plans are being considered to cross this thin line.
Of Disney’s live-action remakes to date, it might have been The Lion King that has attracted the most attention for its lack of originality as it is a scene-for-scene copy of the original and for its lack of heart as the film struggles for a realistic impact of the the beginning. Critics have called the film “heartless,” “soulless,” and asked Disney not to give its characters any expressions. But obviously, what the studio is aiming for is that this is one of the highest grossing films of all time as Bailey shared that The Lion King it could turn into a “big, big saga” just like that Star wars.
“There’s a lot of room if we can find the stories.”
Seeing that the remake is barely getting in any the only thing that would set it apart from the original might seem unique, expecting Disney to create an entirely new plot to continue the story. However, a prequel to the film, titled Mufasa: The Lion King, on the way and this may be the evidence that will determine whether Simba and his friends will be able to have more adventures or not.
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