So far as I can tell, the well of material for Disney to remake, transform into “live-action,” reorganize, or otherwise re-capitalize on is basically bottomless. (I’m sure a Seven Dwarves sitcom is right around the corner.) Last year, the company released Wish, which was about the Star upon which its magical heroes and heroines are forever wishing. It felt like a stretch, even for Disney, and estimates suggest it may have lost the studio over $130 million.
Not to be deterred, Disney is marching on with another head-scratcher of a cinematic notion: a movie about Prince Charming. Yes, the often-name-unspecified handsome fella who comes along to save/marry the princess. No story details have been released, but Deadline notes that while Prince Charming technically originated with Cinderella, he will not be limited to her world of glass slippers and stepsisters.
It isn’t clear whether this film will be live-action or animated, though if forced to bet I would guess the former, as Paul King is attached to direct. King won the goodwill and hearts and minds of many a moviegoer with Paddington and the nigh-perfect Paddington 2—and he was a director on The Mighty Boosh—but the only movie he’s directed since the endearing bear got his second cinematic adventure is, well, Wonka. It’s a bit disappointing.
Two of King’s Paddington 2 collaborators, Simon Farnaby and Jon Croker, will write Prince Charming’s story into existence.
