Credit: DisneyFor nearly 90 years, The Walt Disney Company has been taking some classic tales and turning them into hit animated movies. Then, in 1994, Disney took the bold step of turning one of the iconic animated films — The Jungle Book (1967) — into a live-action one.
The movie performed much better than Disney thought it would, and two years later, the studio’s live-action remake of One Hundred and One Dalmatians also saw success.
Since then, turning animated movies into live-action remakes has become Disney’s bread and butter. Movies like Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Lion King (2019), Cruella (2021), and The Little Mermaid (2023), have made the company hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Of course, not every Disney animated film is fit to become a live-action remake. Sensibilities have changed, and that’s part of the reason Disney chose not to move forward with both Pocahontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).
And now, a new report has revealed that, for years, Disney has been spending millions of dollars on a live-action film that might never happen.
According to a report from Forbes, Disney has spent nearly $5 million to make a film about the legendary wizard — and star of The Sword in the Stone (1963) — Merlin.
At the peak of the remakes’ popularity Disney even planned live action versions of books based on characters which had become famous in its animated fairytales. One was The Merlin Saga, based on author T.A. Barron’s 12-book series about the sorcerer’s early years prior to his appearance in Disney’s The Sword in the Stone.
Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote the screenplay for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series, King Kong and The Hobbit, was appointed to write the script and Disney went on the hunt for an acclaimed director.
In January 2018 Variety claimed that Ridley Scott was deep in discussions with Disney about helming a live action remake of The Sword in the Stone, but opted to make The Merlin Saga for the Mouse instead. In early 2019, a rumor even spread that casting was underway for the blockbuster which would start shooting at the end of the year. It was not to be.
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However, in 2022, Scott denied being “deep in discussions” with Disney about a Merlin movie, and he clarified that he wasn’t interested in movies about wizards.
In an interview, Scott said, “[Disney] wanted me to do a wizard film, and I don’t do wizard films. It wasn’t a good idea.”
The last time Disney updated fans about the Merlin prequel film was in 2021. Although the film never really made it out of the idea phase, Forbes discovered that Disney has poured nearly $5 million into its creation. The studio even created a new production company in the United Kingdom in anticipation of filming on location.
As of right now, it does not appear that Disney is moving forward with its Merlin saga. However, they have not officially canceled it, so anything is possible.
Even without the planned Merlin movie, Disney still has many live-action remakes lined up.
On March 21, Disney will release one of its most controversial remakes to date, Snow White. Then, two months later, in May, Disney’s live-action remake of the 2002 film Lilo & Stitch will premiere in theaters nationwide.
Disney also plans for live-action remakes of Moana (2016), Hercules (1997), Robin Hood (1973), The Aristocats (1970), Bambi (1942), and Tangled (2010) lined up.
Would you like to see a prequel film about Merlin and how he became a legendary wizard? What do you think about Disney’s live-action remakes? Share your thoughts in the comments!