Charlie Bean, who is best known for directingThe Lego Ninjago Movie, has officially signed on to helm Disney’s live-action/CGI remake ofLady and the Tramp. The project is a priority for Disney to be made exclusively for their new streaming platform in 2019. It has been reported that the Disney streaming service expects to release four to six movies a year along with other original TV projects, including the newStar Warsseries that Jon Favreau recently officially signed on to make.
Lady and the Trampwas released in 1955 and it includes some of Disney’s most iconic animation in their history. The story of aCocker Spaniel named Ladywho finds herself on the mean streets after her owners have a new baby and then learns to live in the gutter with Tramp, who saves her from a pack. Included in that iconic imagery is the famous shared spaghetti scene, which is not only one of Disney’s most iconic moments, but also in the history of film.
Charlie Bean will direct theLady and Tramplive-action remake with Brigham Taylor, who previously worked on the Disney’s remake ofThe Jungle Book, producing the project, and Andrew Bujalski writing the script. That’s about all of the information that is available for the new remake other than knowing that it will be a mix of live-action as well as CGI and that it will be available sometime in 2019 to stream on thenew Disney streaming service. Now that a director is in place, a cast and production start time will be announced shortly.
As for theDisneyremakes,The Lion King, which Jon Favreau is also directing,Aladdin, andMulanare next up on the schedule after the successes ofBeauty and the BeastandThe Jungle Book. Additionally, thelive-action version of The Sword and the Stoneis also on the way and it is rumored to be available on the Disney streaming service along withLady and the Tramp. Disney has plenty more movies to go in and remake, so it seems they’re just getting started, especially with the addition of the streaming platform as another way to release the new remakes. Disney is going to have some of the biggest properties around when they launch the new streaming service.
SinceLady and the Trampfeatures two talking dogs as the main characters, the CGI is going to have to be pretty top-notch and rumors of the budget reflect that. There have been reports that the budget could be as high as $100 million, which means that Disney will not be cutting corners when producing their original content for their upcoming streaming platform. Charlie Bean has written forDexter’s Laboratory,Samurai Jack, and directed nearly all of the episodes of Disney XD’sTron: Uprising. You can read more about the new DisneyLady and the Tramplive-action remake atThe Hollywood Reporter.
