Disney's live-action adaptations of its animated classics have been a tad hit-or-miss. Some have exceeded expectations, whether it be from a storytelling or technological standpoint (The Lion King, Peter Pan & Wendy, and Beauty and the Beast, for example), while there have been a fair few let-downs (here's looking at you, Pinocchio).
Still, there's a huge amount of excitement for Hercules, especially with 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 hired to write the script and was thought to be hard at work on that before the WGA strike last year.
Beyond some undeniably enticing 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.
However, a few months ago, it was widely reported that Aladdin director Guy Ritchie had stepped down from the live-action remake, leaving it seemingly further than ever from becoming a reality.
That's evident from a new update shared by the Russo Brothers. Talking to Total Film (via Toonado.com), they revealed that they're still "waiting on a script," meaning cameras are nowhere close to rolling on a movie they previously said pulls inspiration from the soon-to-be-banned TikTok.
"There are questions about how you translate it as a musical," Joe said in 2022. "Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical."
The animated 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 learns how to use his strength to defeat a series of evil creatures, falling in love with Meg and battling the evil Hades.
Time will tell whether the live-action Hercules becomes a reality or falls by the wayside like Bambi and other ill-fated Disney Animation adaptations.
Stay tuned for updates.