Jordan Peele Reportedly Told Disney He Wants to Direct a GARGOYLES Movie
Fans of the classic 1990s animated series Gargoyles have been wanting to see a live-action adaptation made for years! Now, one of Hollywood's hottest directors wants to develop it... Jordan Peele (Get Out)!
In a recent edition of the entertainment industry newsletter The Ankler, it's reported that Peele walked into a meeting with Disney and says "he wants to do a new version of Gargoyles." And what do they do? Nothing. The don't say yes, they don't say no, they do nothing. The report goes on to say:
"How do you turn down Jordan Peele? Well, you can’t. Who wants to be responsible for that decision? So in the absence of a good reason to say no, but prevented by their Big IP box from saying yes, Disney is slow walking the decision. It’s hoping, it seems, that they’ll run out the clock, he’ll sign other deals elsewhere, and the project will just fade away."
It seems so ridiculous that the movie hasn't happened yet and a no-brainer decision to make it, but there is a reason why Disney hasn't moved on this project.
I've heard from individuals who were involved with the original animated series that there are some complicated rights issues with it that involve Jefferey Katzenberg. He left Disney years ago to create DreamWorks Animation and these issues have apparently been keeping a film from getting made. So, until those are worked out, it's probably not going to happen.
I have no doubt that a Gargoyles film under the direction of Jordan Peele, using the CGI motion capture technology that Jon Favreau has been using with The Jungle Book and The Lion King, the film could turn out incredible and I can only imagine that the Gargoyle character would look so freakin' cool!
The story centers around a species of nocturnal creatures known as gargoyles that turn to stone during the day, focusing on a clan led by Goliath. In the year 994, the clan lives in a castle in Scotland. Most are betrayed and killed by humans and the remainder are magically cursed to sleep—i.e., be frozen in stone form—until the castle "rises above the clouds." A millennium later, in 1994, billionaire David Xanatos purchases the gargoyles' castle and has it reconstructed atop his New York skyscraper, the Eyrie Building, thus awakening Goliath and the remainder of his clan. While trying to adjust to their new world, they are aided by a sympathetic female police officer, Elisa Maza, and quickly come into conflict with the plotting Xanatos. In addition to dealing with the gargoyles' attempts to adjust to modern New York City, the series also incorporated various supernatural threats to their safety and to the world at large.
Maybe one day Disney will put in the effort to figure this out and make this movie happen. Would you have liked to see Jordan Peele direct a Gargoyles movie?
Update: Gargoyles creator Greg Wiseman says there is no truth to the rumors I've heard regarding the rights to Gargoyles.
FYI. It's a myth that there are any rights issues w/original #Gargoyles cartoon. A myth so pervasive, even people at Disney believe it.
— Greg Weisman (@Greg_Weisman) June 12, 2018
So then what in the hell is keeping Disney from making a live-action Gargoyles film!? Now I'm really frustrated.
Via: /Film