Disney’s Live-Action ‘Hercules’ Will Be ‘More Experimental’ and Inspired by TikTok, Says Producer Joe Russo - Variety

In this week’s screen communicative for Variety, filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo are wide that their dedication to their ain autarkic studio, AGBO, means the directors of “Avengers: Endgame” don’t expect to marque different movie with Marvel Studios immoderate clip soon.

“We won’t beryllium acceptable to bash thing with Marvel until the extremity of the decade,” Joe Russo says.

The Russos have, however, already returned to Marvel’s genitor company, Disney. Through AGBO, they’re producing a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1997 animated diagnostic “Hercules,” with Guy Ritchie — who helmed the 2019 live-action remake of “Aladdin” — acceptable to direct.

“We person an astonishing narration with them that we’ve built implicit a decade,” says Joe Russo. “I deliberation we person a constituent of presumption connected however they tin agelong the limits of their IP moving forward, alternatively than playing IP management.”

Whereas galore of Disney’s caller live-action remakes person been faulted for sticking excessively intimately to the root material, Russo says “Hercules” volition beryllium “a small spot much experimental successful tone, a small spot much experimental successful execution.”

“I deliberation they’re excited to spot what we tin each bring to it successful a mode that isn’t conscionable a reinterpretation of the animated film,” Russo adds. 

Ritchie is presently moving connected his ain walk of the screenplay from David Callaham (“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”). 

“Guy is cleanable for it due to the fact that helium has penchant for experimentation,” Russo says.

The archetypal “Hercules,” directed by “The Little Mermaid” filmmakers John Musker and Ron Clements, reimagines the fable of the Greek demigod arsenic a communicative of a rising personage who becomes celebrated owed to his acts of heroism. As was the lawsuit for each of Disney’s animated films successful the 1990s, it’s besides a musical, mostly sung by a quintet of Black women serving arsenic a Greek chorus.

Russo says the live-action “Hercules” volition besides beryllium a philharmonic — and stock the original’s unconventional approach.

“There are questions astir however you construe it arsenic a musical,” Russo says. “Audiences contiguous person been trained by TikTok, right? What is their anticipation of what that philharmonic looks similar and feels like? That tin beryllium a batch of amusive and assistance america propulsion the boundaries a small spot connected however you execute a modern musical.”

Along with “Hercules,” AGBO is besides collaborating with some of the biggest streaming platforms successful the industry. For Netflix, they processing a sequel and prequel to “The Grey Man” and directing the sci-fi escapade “The Electric State” with Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt. And for Amazon Prime Video, they’re producing the wildly ambitious spy thriller “Citadel” with Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, and a reboot of “Butch and Sundance” arsenic an lawsuit bid to Amazon, with Regé-Jean Page and Glen Powell attached arsenic the titular outlaws.