The Next Line Of Disney Live-Action Remakes Has Disney Fans Of All Ages Super Excited

There's a whole lot of nostalgia in your future, folks

Elana

• Published in Disney
• March 18, 2019

In 2015 Disney began an epic journey, testing the waters of live-action remakes with Cinderella, an iconic tale that's hard to mess up. It was well-received and did well at the box office and the next venture was Jungle Book in 2016 which did pretty darn well! The next big step was what really propelled the world forward into the magic of re-living Disney classics through new eyes with fresh details, Disney's Beauty and the Beast in 2017. To say that people were excited would be an understatement. The movie did phenomenally well and left Disney fans foaming at the mouth for more.

Disney is not a major media company prone to leaving fans disappointed and while continuing to churn out Marvel movies, Star Wars movies, and animated tales, Disney has put a LOT on the list for what we can expect to enjoy as far as live-action remakes are concerned in 2019 and moving forward. Have a look at what we can expect next!

1941's Dumbo hits theaters March 29th, 2019

Dumbo is one of Disney's oldest animated films and despite it existing peacefully since 1941, it has never truly gotten old (minus a few bird-y, racist undertones we could do without.) The tale of an enormous-eared out-cast baby elephant who ended up being the circus he lived in's main event has been reinvented as a live-action remake ready to swell our hearts this spring. With a cast featuring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Colin Farrell, Alan Arkin, and Eva Green you surely expect greatness, but the final touch of having Tim Burton tacked on as the director basically guarantees that this movie will be an iconic classic reborn.

1992's Aladdin hits theaters May 24th, 2019

Aladdin was once named one of the most controversial movies of all time but the live-action remake has been making headlines for two years! It took an exceptionally long time to nail the cast (Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith to name a few,) because Disney was intentional about "getting it right." As sneak peaks have been busting out over the last few months the discussion about the live-action Aladdin has done nothing but gain momentum as eager fans from the 90's and onward are super excited to see what director Guy Ritchie has in store for us!

1994's Lion King hits theaters July 19th, 2019!

As if we weren't excited enough about the live-action remake of Aladdin, Disney also has us eager as heck for the CGI, live-action remake of The Lion King. The 1994 musical, animated classic won an Oscar so this remake has big shoes to fill and Disney has cut NO corners. From bringing back James Earl Jones to voice Mufasa (A+ choice, Disney,) to bringing in literal superstars like Beyoncé as Nala and Donald Glove as Simba, there is really no chance this movie will be anything but epic.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, October 2019

Not quite a live-action remake and more of a spin-off of a classic, but courtesy of one of Disney's most beloved princesses we got to see a live-action movie about the evil sorceress Maleficent. In 2014, starring one of America's most famous actresses Angelina Jolie, Disney fans dove head-first into the backstory of the witch who cursed baby Princess Aurora. With the success of the villain's story, 2019 will bring us a highly anticipated sequel to further engross us in the complex relationship of vengeful villain and sweet princess and we have zero complaints about Jolie and Elle Fanning returning, nor are we upset about Michelle Pfeiffer joining the cast as Queen Ingrith!

Mulan, March 2020

The next adventure takes us into 2020 where once again 90's Disney fans are delighted to enjoy another live-action remake. One of the most bad*ss Disney princesses of them all: Mulan. It was originally expected to be in theaters in 2018, but Disney was also adamant about respectfully casting the roles for a movie about a legendary figure from ancient Chinese folklore, Disney princess or not! Searching five continents and thoroughly working through nearly 1,000 candidates for the role of Mulan alone was no small task and we are most definitely excited with the choice of Liu Yifei to play Mulan. Most of the cast features Chinese actors including kung-fu icon Jet Li, Yoson An (a "rising star" from New Zeland of Chinese descent,) Gong Li and Donnie Yen! We are super excited to see where this remake takes us.

Lilo and Stitch, TBA

2002's Lilo and Stitch has literally not once stopped being a Disney favorite. 17 years later fans are still growing in numbers and enthusiasm so it's a no-brainer that Disney announced a live-action remake in the works. We eagerly await further details of this hilarious and fun animated film's return to hearts and homes.

Lady an the Tramp, TBA

Adding in another CGI, live-action remake to the mix is the 1995 love story Lady and the Tramp. A tale of a privileged but loving cocker spaniel named Lady crosses paths and falls in love with street mongrel, Tramp. News of the remake broke in 2018 and it's expected to inevitably premier on Disney's upcoming digital streaming service, Disney+. The service is expected to launch near the end of 2019 and has not been without it's own set of controversy but with no end of new and re-envisioned titles on the list, we can only anticipate a massive success for the service. Reportedly, Lady and Tramp will be voiced by Tessa Thompson (you might recall her from Thor: Ragnarok,) and Justin Theroux. Everybody loves stories about dogs and love, and this animated classic will surely be as beloved as the others we've been looking through today!

Cruella, TBA

Cruella de Vil got her first face-lift from animated delight to real-life in 1996 when 101 Dalmations was re-made featuring the iconic Glen Close as the devilish villain but since Maleficent is doing so well, why not dedicate a movie to another "Disney bad girl?"

This time, Cruella is set to be played by Emma Stone, who has worked her way through comedy, drama, horror, and even superhero movies. We can only anticipate the Academy Award winning actress will slay this iconic, evil role.

The Little Mermaid, TBA

Re-making a movie that takes place largely underwater into a live-action adaptation is surely no small task, but Disney has committed to the process. Princess Ariel is truly one of Disney's most popular and most beloved princesses so it's really a no-brainer to give a big, enthusiastic swing at re-making this movie, too.

Alan Menken, the composer behind some of Disney's most iconic music will return to work hand-in-hand with Lin-Manuel Miranda and new songs are expected to flood our hearts. We are eager to hear more details as the months drag on!

Hunchback, TBA

1996's animated tale "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," was a story based off of Victor Hugo's 19th century novel about a deformed Parisian bell-ringer named Quasimodo. Not many details have been released about the live-action remake other than the Oscar-nominated composers of the original film (Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz) will return to work on the script written by Tony-winning playwright and screenwriter David Henry Hwang. It will be exciting to see what Disney does with the tale!

Tink, TBA

The magical fairy from 1953's Peter Pan has never once had her magical light fade from Disney popularity. She has had animated tales released straight to DVD for years now and has become part of the very face of Disney in some capacity but now is her real chance to shine in a live-animated movie all about her and her backstory, reportedly to star Reese Witherspoon.

Snow White, TBA

Disney's oldest animated classic is "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The story of Snow White has been told many times and in many ways (and we seriously love her character in the TV series Once Upon A Time,) but now is her chance to be re-made from 1937 to Disney live-action, we just don't know when yet! Unfortunately. The few detail we have are that songwriters Benj Pasek & Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman, Aladdin 2019,) are on board for some killer music, as well as screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson might pen the script.

Pinocchio, TBA

A real boy with no strings to hold him down? Yep! Puppeteer Gepetto and the puppet who wanted to be a real boy, real bad, became Disney's second oldest animated film when it launched in 1940! Originally based off of Carlo Collodi's 1883 novel, Disney has decided it's high-time this classic got a re-make, too! We're not sure what to expect just yet but reportedly Paddington filmmaker Paul King is set to direct and America's Sweetheart Tom Hanks may end up playing Geppetto!

In case you get a little confused, there is also a not-so-family-friendly Pinocchio project in the works for Netflix courtesy of horror filmmaker Guillermo del Toro.

Sword in the Stone, TBA

1963's animated tale Sword in he Stone was based off of T.H. White's novel about a young King Arthur as he is mentored by iconic wizard, Merlin. The movie was magical and wonderful but you may not find as much enthusiasm for the re-make as other movies on this list, which we encourage you to dig around for because the story and art are really good! Reportedly, Game of Thrones writer and producer Bryan Cogman has written the script for the live-action remake so if that doesn't warm your blood then we don't know what will!

Elana