Los Angeles: The world of “Hercules” will come alive on the big screen once again, this time as a live-action film.
Disney is in early development of a live-action remake of its 1997 animated movie “Hercules”, with “Avengers” filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo producing through their AGBO production company, reports variety.com.
Action specialist Dave Callaham is also on board to write the “Hercules” script. Callaham is known for teaming up with Sylvester Stallone for the original screenplay for “The Expendables”, creating his character for the franchise.
The 1997 movie was a musical-fantasy retelling of the Hercules legend. It was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker.
The character of Hercules was voiced by Tate Donovan, who was snatched as a baby by Hades and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god.
Hercules had to perform “a rite of passage” on Earth to prove himself worthy of living with the gods on Mount Olympus. He did it with the help of his mentor, voiced by Danny DeVito.
“Hercules” carried an $85 million budget and generated $252 million at the worldwide box office. Other Disney films to get an updated live-action version include: “Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin” and “The Lion King”.
The Russo brothers opened the AGBO facilities in Los Angeles last year and co-produced the Chris Hemsworth action film “Extraction”, which released on Netflix last week.