Disney's live-action adaptations of its animated classics have been somewhat hit-or-miss, with some great movies (The Lion King, Peter Pan & Wendy, and last year's The Little Mermaid, for example), and a fair few disappointments (Pinocchio instantly springs to mind, as does the Maleficent sequel and Dumbo).
Still, there's been a lot of excitement for Hercules, especially with Aladdin director Guy Ritchie at the helm and Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo overseeing the project as producers. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings writer, David Callaham, has been tapped to write the script and was thought to be hard at work on that before the WGA strike began earlier this year.
Beyond some hard-to-believe casting rumours - last we heard, Ariana Grande (Wicked) and Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) are being eyed for the roles of Hercules and Meg - it's been a while since any updates about the project have been shared.
Unfortunately, it seems like Hercules has hit something of a roadblock after losing director Guy Ritchie. As we first reported on Toonado.com, this news comes our way from scooper Daniel Richtman and has been backed up by the team at The DisInsider Show.
It appears he's too busy to make the movie and has shifted his focus to other projects. Don't start getting excited about Aladdin 2, though, because the site cautions it's unlikely to happen in the near future (we've heard that Prince Anders spin-off is a priority instead).
Hercules was released by Disney in 1997 and earned positive reviews. It earned $252.7 million worldwide and followed the story of Hercules, a son of gods, who was snatched as a baby by Hades and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god.
As a teenager, the demi-god needed to perform a rite of passage on Earth to prove himself worthy of living with the gods on Mount Olympus. From there, with his plucky satyr sidekick, Phil, along for the ride, Hercules learned how to use his strength to defeat a series of evil creatures, falling in love with Meg and battling the evil Hades.
The Russos have said this take on Hercules will be inspired by TikTok, comments which caused concern among many fans (though it seems they were referencing that in regards to any musical/dance numbers). As of now, no release date has been revealed and it's unclear who will step in to direct in Ritchie's absence.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.