Sean Bailey, Walt Disney Studios’ President of Motion Picture Production, talked with The Hollywood Reporter regarding Disney’s plans for future production of live-action movies.
Photo Credit: THR
- Bailey discussed a wide variety of topics, including:
- The live-action remake of Disney’s The Lion King
- Future live-action strategy
- Plans for films heading to Disney+
- The Disney-Fox merger
- The reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise
- And more
- When asked about the upcoming remake of The Lion King, Bailey said “It is a new form of filmmaking. Historical definitions don't work. It uses some techniques that would traditionally be called animation, and other techniques that would traditionally be called live action. It is an evolution of the technology Jon used in Jungle Book.”
- When it comes to the potential for other Disney films that could potentially be remade, Bailey said “I don't know, because we might hear something that excites us. Take Maleficent. She was a character who cursed a baby because she didn't get an invitation to a party, and we thought, "This is interesting." We made a movie, and now we are making another movie. We will continue to play around in ways that I hope are interesting and unexpected.”
- Bailey also gave some insight as to how many new movies we can expect to see on Disney+ per year, saying “The ambition is in the four-to-five range for our group. With the streaming service, we can make a bigger range of movies.”
- Bailey mixed his messages a bit in regard to the Fox acquisition and what it means for the future of Disney films, saying “We're going to keep doing what we do. I'm excited. I've been spending a fair amount of time with my soon-to-be colleagues, and they're really impressive people. There is obviously a lot to be sorted out.”
- Bailey also discussed the coming reboot of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and what hiring writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick means for the films: “We want to bring in a new energy and vitality. I love the [Pirates] movies, but part of the reason Paul and Rhett are so interesting is that we want to give it a kick in the pants. And that's what I've tasked them with.”
- Finally, Bailey explained that while they are remaking sever Disney classics, there are no plans to bring them all together. “Just as Marvel has Iron Man and Thor and Captain America, maybe Belle and Cinderella and Mowgli and Simba are our superheroes,” Bailey said. “But we're not going to interconnect them in a universe anytime soon, I promise. Simba isn't in Jungle Cruise.”
- Disney’s The Lion King is set to premiere in theaters July 19, 2019 with Jungle Cruise releasing the a year later on July 24, 2020.