Josh Gad Reveals His Disney Sequel Is Dead

There was a time not that long ago when Josh Gad seemed positioned as one of the Walt Disney Company’s most valuable players, but it increasingly seems like that is no longer the case. While the voice behind Olaf the Snowman seems secure in that particular role (even if Frozen 3 does not seem to be coming to theaters any time soon), it seems that is not enough to actually get Gad’s other upcoming franchise sequel made.

In a recent Twitter post, Josh Gad revealed that his long-in-development legacy sequel to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids franchise seems dead in the water. Specifically, the Artemis Fowl star said that “A lot of u ask me what’s going on with this film. Truth is, we were inches from starting and then COVID hit, inches from starting again & then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches from starting again & budget got the best of us. If you want it, let your local @disney know.”

A lot of u ask me what’s going on with this film. Truth is, we were inches from starting and then COVID hit, inches from starting again & then my schedule exploded with conflicts, inches from starting again & budget got the best of us. If you want it, let your local @disney know. pic.twitter.com/H5l24DQyoU

— Josh Gad (@joshgad) June 26, 2023

Josh Gad Has Been Attached to ‘Honey I Shrunk’ Sequel for Years

honey i shrunk the kids rick moranis — Credit: Disney

All the way back in 2018 (or an entire geological period ago, in show business), it was announced that Disney Plus would produce remakes and/or legacy sequels to a number of beloved IPs as exclusive content. Honey I Shrunk the Kids was one of these properties, but unlike the recent Willow reboot series (which featured returning star Warwick Davis) or National Treasure: Edge of History, it has been delayed time and time again.

The original plan for the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Disney Plus series was for Josh Gad to portray Nick Szalinski, the now-grown son of Rick Moranis’s scientist character, previously portrayed by Robert Oliveri. While details of the plot were scarce, it can probably be assumed that Gad would be experimenting with some kind of science-based device that either turned people very small, very big, or some previously unknown state of being.

At one point, it was reported that original film star Rick Moranis would come out of semi-retirement (an honor usually reserved for Ryan Reynolds investment commercials) for the Disney Plus reboot and that director Joe Johnston would be returning, but it appears that is all moot now.

This Is Not the First Time Disney Has Cancelled Josh Gad

Although Josh Gad has a plum role in the Frozen franchise (which has included several shorts starring Olaf) and has appeared in several other Disney projects, it seems that Disney is quite comfortable shutting down a series starring him.

After Josh Gad appeared in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast (2017) as LeFou alongside Luke Evans and Emma Watson, it was announced that he would star in a Disney Plus series focused on LeFou and Gaston. The project picked up remarkable traction, eventually casting Rita Ora, Sharon D. Clarke, Jelani Alladin and Fra Fee, and Gad was even going to showrun with Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.

However, in 2022, the Beauty and the Beast spinoff series was abruptly “postponed indefinitely,” the usual polite code for canceled. If you’re going to contact Disney about the Josh Gad Honey I Shrunk the Kids series, you might as well mention that one too.