Disney’s live-action enterprise continues, but it seems not everything is getting the fanfare many may expect or want.
This summer, Walt Disney Studios will hope to replicate the billion-dollar success of Jon Favreau’s The Lion King (2019) with Barry Jenkins’ prequel movie Mufasa: The Lion King (2024). The has, though, already caused discourse regarding its apparent alteration to the thirty-year Lion King canon.
Mufasa: The Lion King will be the latest in a long line of live-action adaptations from the House of Mouse. While Disney live-action remakes have been a part of the studio’s film distribution for years, think 101 Dalmatians (1996), it wasn’t until after 2010 that Disney really invested in the brand.
Following Angelina Jolie’s turn as Maleficent in 2014’s Maleficent, Disney got to work on rolling out remake after remake, with the likes of Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), and Aladdin (2019). The latter two, along with The Lion King, crossed the $1 billion dollar mark at the global box office upon release.
With the arrival of Disney+ in November 2019, live-action adaptations began to trickle onto the streamer and into the movie theaters. From Lady and the Tramp (2019) to Pinocchio (2022) to Peter Pan & Wendy (2023), Disney+’s offerings have not been universally well-received, adding to the discourse that Disney has lost control of its quality.
Despite this, and despite the lukewarm box officer of Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid (2023), The Walt Disney Company is continuing to proceed with its remakes. Following Mufasa: The Lion King this year, Disney will finally drop its polarizing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) remake in 2025.
Before Disney’s first princess makes her long-awaited live-action debut, the studio’s remake of Lilo & Stitch will reportedly hit Disney+ in late 2024.
“While there isn’t a release date for the Lilo & Stitch live-action just yet, the film is currently in postproduction and is expected to be released sometime this year,” writes The Hollywood Reporter. “The original film was released in June 2002.”
Dean Fleischer Camp is directing the upcoming live-action remake. The cast includes Chris Sanders as Stitch, Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, Sydney Agudong as Nani Pelekai, Billy Magnussen as Agent Pleakley, Zach Galifianakis as Dr. Jumba Jookiba, Kaipo Dudoit as David Kawena, and Courtney B. Vance as Cobra Bubbles. Kaipo Dudoit replaced Kahiau Machado after a video resurfaced of the latter using a racial slur.
“Tia Carrere, who originally voiced Nani in the first film, will also play the newly created Mrs. Kekoa, while Amy Hill will star as a new character named Tūtū,” The Hollywood Reporter shared in a different 2023 update.
If The Hollywood Reporter‘s late 2024 release is correct, Lilo & Stitch will debut on Disney+ two years after it was first confirmed to be released on the streamer.
While Mufasa: The Lion King and Moana 2 (2024), which comes out in November, are getting big splashy teasers and trailers, it has been silent on the Lilo & Stitch front. If a 2024 release is on the cards, then Disney does not have long to stir up excitement for the project.
It’s concerning that in June, nothing regarding Lilo & Stitch has surfaced. The film has seemingly been buried underneath the excitement for Moana 2, the imminent release of Mufasa, and the discourse surrounding Disney’s Snow White.
Related: Government Gets Involved in Controversial Live-Action ‘Snow White’ Remake
That said, curiosity alone could stir up a relatively big audience for Lilo & Stitch as fans ponder how Disney will bring the various alien species to life. It’s hard to imagine Experiment 626 in real life, but Dean Fleischer Camp’s movie will put the character front and center.
After development was hindered by both the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and later, the SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, filming on Lilo & Stitch wrapped in May 2024. The film is written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright.
Away from the Disney+ streamer, Disney is readying its next Pixar Animation Studios release with Inside Out 2 (2024). Kelsey Mann is bringing all the classic emotions back, including new ones like Maya Hawke’s Anxiety, in the much-anticipated sequel to Pete Docter’s Inside Out (2015).
The animated movie is on track to be one of the biggest theatrical openings of 2024. Early social media reactions have praised it as a true return to form for the once-untouchable studio.
Related: Disney Confirms Erasure of “Puberty Park” From ‘Inside Out 2’
As for Snow White, the Rachel Zegler-led movie from Marc Webb has been contested for a while now. Its delayed release to 2025 originally saw it sandwiched and buried between Moana 2 and the live-action version of Moana (2016). However, once Moana 2 was officially announced, Disney eventually shifted the live-action adaptation to 2026 to space out the two films.
Will you be watching the live-action Lilo & Stitch when it is eventually released? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
