One More Time to the ‘Woke’ Well: New Report Suggests Disney Is Planning New Live-Action Film With Major Changes Coming to a Classic

One would think that The Walt Disney Company would have learned its lesson. Sure, Disney’s live-action remakes have produced a slew of billion-dollar hits, including this year’s Lilo & Stitch, but more often than not, those movies outright fail.

If Disney can point to this year’s Lilo & Stitch as a success, it can also look a little further back in the year and find one of its worst-performing live-action films in Snow White (2025). The Rachel Zegler-helmed remake underwent numerous reshoots and was the subject of fans’ ire before finally hitting theaters, only to lose around $115 million at the box office.

Snow White was so poorly received that Disney considered pausing its live-action remakes, including Tangled, which appears to be one again.

The controversy surrounding Snow White began with the initial casting of Zegler, who is half Colombian, in the titular role. Many accused Disney of going “woke” by changing the character of Snow White. One would think that Disney had learned its lesson from this incident and the subsequent financial loss, but it doesn’t appear to be the case.

According to a new report, Disney is considering a live-action remake of Sleeping Beauty (1959), but there’s a twist. According to the report, the film would not be set in medieval France as the original was, but in Mexico.

Disney has already used the source material from Sleeping Beauty for a live-action remake with 2014’s Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie as the titular character. This story recounts the origin of the villain from Sleeping Beauty and how she evolved into the evil character she would become.

Making a sweeping change to the story, like the setting, is a risky move for Disney, and one can almost hear Disney’s critics, of which there are many, screaming “woke” already. If Snow White should have taught Disney anything, it’s that you don’t mess with the classics, especially those that have such close ties to Walt.

This is just a rumor, and Disney has not made an official announcement, so it’s possible that this is just something they’re considering before moving on to another project. If true, perhaps Disney has an amazing story that will quiet the critics. It sure didn’t work for Snow White.

What do you think of Disney remaking ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in Mexico? Let us know in the comments.