Following the Aladdin success, Guy Ritchie to helm live-action adaptation of 'Hercules' for Disney

Buoyed by the success of the live-action version of Aladdin, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie is set to collaborate with Disney for the second time. The task at hand is the live-action transfer of the studio's 1997 animated film Hercules, which followed the titular character's pursuits to defeat his evil uncle Hades and attain true godhood along the way in ancient Greece. 

The same animation film saw Tate Donavan voice the lead character of Hercules with the inimitable Danny Devito rendering the Greek hero's trainer Phil. Susan Egan voiced Meg, Hercules' love interest. The film's memorable soundtrack came from Alan Menken (also scored for the animated versions of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, the 2007 film Enchanted, and many more) and fans can expect the composer to return for the Guy Ritchie version, considering the musical quality of the 1997 original.

The upcoming live-action film will be produced by Joe and Anthony Russo (known as the Russo brothers) through their production Company with screenwriter Dave Callaham already completing the first draft of the script. According to Deadline, the studio is in the process of hiring a new set of writers for future drafts.

Disney's new fleet of live-action translations of their animation films includes Alice in Wonderland, The Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, etc. among many others. Ritchie's own adaptation of Aladdin became his first-ever billion-dollar endeavor and it isn't a surprise that the story would hire him back to repeat the magic, albeit with a whole new challenge. Aladdin, the 2019 musical fantasy, starred Mena Massoud in the titular role, Naomi Scott as his love interest Jasmine, Will Smith in the role of the comical jinn Genie, and Marwan Kenzari as the baddie Jafar.

Reports reveal that the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carrey are already in consideration to play Hades in Guy Ritchie's Hercules. Singer-songwriter Ariana Grande too has expressed interest in the past to star in the adaptation, especially in the role of Megara or Meg.