Fans of Disney‘s 1970s animated feature Robin Hood aren’t likely to be feeling particularly merry after the latest update about a potential live-action remake.
During a recent Reddit AMA, filmmaker Carlos López Estrada said that the studio was not moving forward with his planned photorealistic musical. The Hollywood Reporter exclusively reported in April 2020 that Estrada was in early development on the movie for streaming service Disney+ after deals were finalized prior to the industry shutting down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s dead, sadly,” Estrada wrote in response to a question about the project’s status. “I say ‘sadly’ because I actually thought there was something really special (and original!) there. Some truly extraordinary music we had figured out for it.”
The Blindspotting director added, “I keep daydreaming about doing it independently with different characters.”
THR previously reported that Kari Granlund was writing the script for a feature remake that would be a hybrid of live action and CG. Granlund worked on the screenplay for Disney’s 2019 version of Lady and the Tramp, which became the studio’s first remake to debut on a streaming platform.
A scene from Disney’s Robin Hood.
Courtesy of Everett Collection
Disney has continued to prioritize its theatrical remakes of classic animated properties. This includes a live-action take on Tangled, which is back in active development after THR reported last year that the film’s progress had been paused in light of Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot’s live-action Snow White underperforming at the box office. Since then, Disney has had a massive hit with the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch, while Barry Jenkins’ prequel Mufasa: The Lion King also had a strong showing.
Director Thomas Kail’s live-action remake of Moana hits theaters this summer. Additionally, the studio has been developing a live-action spinoff of Beauty and the Beast villain Gaston and a remake of Hercules from filmmaker Guy Ritchie.
Robin Hood hit theaters in 1973 and used animated anthropomorphic animals to tell the classic story of the heroic outlaw. Robin Hood and Maid Marian were depicted as red foxes, while Little John was a brown bear, and Prince John was a lion. The film surpassed $32 million at the domestic box office ($234 million today) and earned an Oscar nomination for the song “Love.”
Bob Iger, who is soon ending his run as Disney CEO, said during a conference call last year that the studio has focused its efforts on theatrical releases after having previously attempted to ramp up its Disney+ roster.
“We all know that, in our zeal to flood our streaming platform with more content, that we turned to all of our creative engines, including Marvel, and had them produce a lot more,” Iger said. “We’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality.”
During his Reddit conversation, Estrada also responded to a question about his experience co-directing Disney’s 2021 animated feature Raya and the Last Dragon.
“Disney was so special and so hard,” Estrada said. Noting that he was Disney Animation‘s first director of color, he continued, “Needless to say, I lasted only a few years there. But they were really great years. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. But I do have some proper crazy Disney stories that I should share someday.”
