Lilo and Stitch are back.
Lilo & Stitch, the 2002 animated movie from Walt Disney Pictures, is getting the live-action treatment, Wild About Movies has learned.
Disney has hired up-and-comer Mike Van Waes to pen the script for the remake that will be produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback. The two are already known in the Disney halls as they worked on the high-profile live-action remake of Aladdin, in theaters next year.
Stitch was written and directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, who later found acclaim with How to Train Your Dragon.
The Hawaii-centric story told of the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is engineered to be a force of destruction. Pursuing aliens, social workers, and the idea of the bond of family figure into the proceedings.
While not a massive success by modern box office standards, the well-regarded movie was a bright spot in a down period of Disney’s animation history and launched several direct-to-video sequels as well as several television series.
The feature project is the latest in Disney’s successful strategy of mining their past animated classics and re-purposing them as live-action tentpoles events. Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, Pete’s Dragon are some of the recent releases with Dumbo, The Lion King and Aladdin among those heading moviegoers’ way in the future.
Van Waes is better known in Hollywood circles as a writer of horror fare. He wrote The Crooked Man, based on a character from Warner Bros.’ The Conjuring 2 and that is being developed as a Conjuring Universe spinoff. He also wrote Not in Kansas, a Wizard of Oz-themed horror project also set up at Warner Bros.
Lilo And Stitch Getting Live Action Remake
