Guy Ritchie Reportedly No Longer Directing Disney's Live-Action HERCULES

A couple of years ago it was announced that Aladdin and Snatch director Guy Ritchie would be helming a live-action adaptation of Hercules for Disney. Now it seems that the filmmaker is no longer attached to the movie and the project has been stalled.

The news comes from scooper Daniel Richtman and it has also been backed up by the team at The DisInsider Show. Apparently, Ritchie is too busy and is putting his focus on making other projects. It was most recently announced that he would be directing a film titled Fountain of Youth with John Krasinski and Natalie Portman.

As for the long-awaited Aladdin 2, it’s said that the sequel is still a long way off if it even ever gets made.

Disney's Hercules is being produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, and when previously talking about it, Joe explained that the film will be “a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution,” adding “I think they’re excited to see what we can all bring to it in a way that isn’t just a reinterpretation of the animated film.”

Joe also said that Ritchie was “perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation.” He went on to add that the live-action “Hercules” will also be a musical — and share the original’s unconventional approach, saying: “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical. Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”

With Ritchie out, it will be interesting to see who Disney brings in to replace him. I like Ritchie as a director and I bet his take on Hercules would’ve been a lot of fun. He did a great job with Aladdin. But, I’ll admit, I’m more excited about the other projects that he’s developing.