Disney has won the rights for a high concept original adventure film from screenwriter John Whittington (Lego Batman and Lego Ninjago), The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Game Night and Disney’s Jungle Cruise producer John Davis is producing with his Davis Entertainment partner, John Fox.
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Details on the currently untitled project are being kept under wraps, but it is said the film will be set in “the world of movies.” Disney beat out Warner Bros. in a heated bidding war for the live-action project, which is being developed for a theatrical release, not Disney+.
Disney isn’t known for getting into bidding wars for original spec projects, as for the last ten years their bread and butter has been branded IP’s from Marvel Studios and Star Wars, as well as their live-action remakes and sequels, such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and the Maleficent films. However, Disney took a chance on this original project as it may allow the studio to also dig deep in its large warehouse of movies.
Read: Ranking The Live-Action Disney Remakes (Circa 2010)
What makes this project interesting to me, is this could be Disney’s next big franchise. A mix of Ready Player One and the Lego Movie, projects such as these, using a studio’s history and nostalgia are picking up steam, and this gives Disney a chance to deep into their library of films with their iconic characters could be a great way to introduce a new generation to classic Disney films. It also reminds me a bit of Jon Favreau’s canned Magic Kingdom project, which was said to revolve around a family who visits Disneyland and the theme park attractions and characters come to life. Hopefully, this new project does not suffer the same fate, as Disney fans are always looking for new big-screen adventures.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
