We first heard about Disney's plans for a live-action Hunchback of Notre Dame in 2019, but due to the pandemic, work on the project stalled. Over the past year, however, star Josh Gad (Frozen) has provided some promising updates.
Alas, it now appears the studio has changed its mind about the movie, with the remake likely on indefinite hold.
"Now that Bob Iger is back in the driver's seat, it is highly unlikely that the project will move forward as Iger is not the biggest fan of Hunchback of Notre Dame and a remake isn't in their list of priorities," TheDisInsider.com reveals (via Toonado.com). "Things can obviously change but this is the most recent information we have on the project."
Given the possible controversies which could stem from Hunchback of Notre Dame's tricky subject matter, we probably shouldn't be shocked by this news. As one of the animated movies released by Disney in the late 90s, it's not necessarily a classic either and there are other properties with much larger fanbases.
Among them is Tangled, and that's exactly the sort of feel-good story which could provide Disney with a much-needed box office hit.
A live-action adaptation is said to be in development, news which has long been rumoured. Released in 2010, the original animated adventure's popularity has only grown in the years since, with Rapunzel becoming one of Disney's most beloved Princesses among fans.
The original movie grossed just shy of $600 million at the worldwide box office and starred Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, and Donna Murphy.
Nothing has been confirmed about either of these movies just yet, but this news comes from a reliable source and we've been expecting Hunchback of Notre Dame to fall by the wayside for a while now. It's a project which had potential, but Disney is likely looking to avoid any further controversies about the themes in some of its somewhat outdated movies.
Stay tuned to Toonado.com for the latest Disney updates.