Disney's animated classic Robin Hood is getting a live action remake - especially for the entertainment giant's new streaming service, according to reports in the film industry.
The reboot will follow in the footsteps of recent live-action remakes such as The Lion King and Aladdin, both of which grossed upwards of $1 billion at the box office in their new glossy incarnations.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this new remake is being developed as an exclusive for the Disney+ streaming service.
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Music video director Carlos Lopez Estrada, who is probably best known for directing the 2018 crime movie Blindspotting, is reported to be at the helm of the remake. It is being written by Kari Granlund, who wrote the remake of Lady and the Tramp.
The new version is believed to be taking a live-action/CG hybrid format, meaning it's likely to have less realistic animals than the likes of The Lion King. So if the you were concerned about preserving the whole 'cartoon animals in Sherwood Forest' vibe of the original cartoon, this should be music to your ears.
The original, released in 1973, recreated the English folklore legend as a musical, which saw the world populated by talking animals. For example, Robin was a fox and Little John was a bear.
Look closely and you might notice many of the sequences were reused pieces of animation from previous movies such as The Jungle Book and Snow White - Little John is very noticeably similar to Baloo from the former, and was even voiced by the same actor, Phil Harris.
This contributed towards Robin Hood being the lowest-budget movie Disney has ever produced, although it was a hit at the box office and remains popular among fans.
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The new version won't be getting a full theatrical release, though, and will go straight to streaming, much like the new version of The Sword in the Stone.
It was also reported last year that the studio is also planning to revamp The Hunchback of Notre-Dame - which, might I add, is the best Disney film ever (don't @ me).
The 1996 Disney film, based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, is set to be produced by Mandeville Films and Frozen star Josh Gad is understood to be involved in the project - though it is unclear in what capacity.
The 37-year-old - who appeared as LeFou in Disney's recent live action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast - appeared to confirm his participation in the remake on Twitter, sharing a picture of himself outside the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris along with the caption: "Sing the bells, bells, bells / Bells, bells, bells, bells, bells..."
Although Disney has had success with some of its remakes, others have been received less well by purists - such as poor old Dumbo, which was described as a 'a flightless pachyderm of a film' in The Guardian's one-star review.
Featured Image Credit: DisneyTopics: Disney+
