With Disney churning out live-action remakes of their classic animated movies at a pretty fast pace, everyone is waiting to see which nostalgia-infused story will be chosen for the treatment next. So far, the remakes have included the likes of the The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, and with Mulan due for imminent release, it looks like one of the next adaptations to follow will be the Greek superhero Hercules.

It is now being reported that Disney is in the early stages of developing a live-action remake of Hercules which will then receive a theatrical release, rather than a Disney+ one like the recent Lady and the Tramp remake. The report also indicates that songs from the animated version are expected to be included in the upcoming remake, likely alongside new ones, much like what was done with Guy Ritchie's Aladdin last year.

The studio has allegedly tapped Jeffery Silver of The Lion King and Tron: Legacy fame alongside The Mandalorian's Karen Gilchrist to produce. With regards as to who will be behind the camera for Hercules, a few names are being touted. The first name is a familiar one, and the man behind several of the Disney live-action remakes that have been made so far, Jon Favreau. Favreau has directed two of Disney's most successful remakes in 2016's The Jungle Book and 2019's The Lion King, both of which performed superbly well at the box office. The project would also re-team Favreau with both Silver and Gilchrist, making this choice very plausible.

The second name, or names, that have been mentioned are Avengers: Endgame's Joe and Anthony Russo, also known as The Russo Brothers. The directing duo has again helmed several very successful movies in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, and, of course, the highest-grossing movie of all-time, last year's comic book epic Avengers: Endgame. Again, a very solid choice to bring Hercules to the live-action stage.

The final name that has been reported is Gore Verbinski, who directed, and is largely responsible for, one of Disney's most successful franchises of all time with the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Verbinski did attempt to catch lightning in a bottle a second time at Disney when he directed 2013's The Lone Ranger, which sadly flopped and quickly ended his plans for a western franchise. Still, the astronomical success of Pirates of the Caribbean is nothing to be sneezed at, and perhaps Disney are looking to give him another go.

It should be noted that this report is largely rumor at this stage, and there has been no confirmation that any formal discussions have taken place, but with a live-action Hercules having been in circling the rumor mill for some time, this all makes too much sense to be entirely false.

The animated Hercules from 1997 follows the Greek myth of a boy taken from the gods as a newborn and adopted on earth. Beginning as just an awkward pillar of strength trying to fit in, what Hercules wants most is to impress his father Zeus. When Hercules discovers Hades' sinister plot to take over Mount Olympus, he goes from zero to hero and, with the help of his pals Pegasus and Phil, discovers that real strength comes from the heart. This comes to us from The Disinsider.