It was recently reported that Disney is eyeing Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service) and Ariana Grande (Wicked) to play Hercules and Meg in its upcoming Hercules remake.
Aladdin director Guy Ritchie will be at the helm, with Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo producing. There's a lot of excitement for the live-action movie, particularly as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings writer David Callaham has been tapped to pen the screenplay.
While work on that will have halted due to the WGA strike, another casting update has found its way online today.
We've previously heard that Danny DeVito is keen to reprise his role as Phil from the animated movie, a possibility which received a warm response from fans. Now, scooper Daniel Richtman (via Toonado.com) is reporting that the Haunted Mansion star was in talks with Disney about a possible Hercules return right before the SAG-AFTRA members also went on strike.
The character would likely be CG, and if he does come back, DeVito would follow in the footsteps of James Earl Jones, the legendary actor who returned to voice Mufasa in Jon Favreau's live-action remake of The Lion King after first playing him in animation.
Sadly, we don't expect any official updates on this or any other Hercules casting rumour until the strikes are over.
The original Hercules movie followed the story of its title character, 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.
Released in 1997, the movie earned positive reviews and ultimately grossed $252.7 million worldwide. Many non-Disney takes on Hercules have been played in theaters both before and since then, but the House of Mouse's latest interpretation of the classic story doesn't currently have a release date.
We'll hopefully have more to share with you soon.