Walt Disney Studios has released the first trailer for Jungle Cruise, the upcoming featuring starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt which is inspired by the Disney river boat theme park attraction of the same name.
The movie is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, with Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti joining Blunt and Johnson on the cast.
Continue below for a more on Jungle Cruise, and to check out the trailer and a poster.
Disney will be continuing their course to release more live-action adaptations of their animated classics as long as they are box office successes. But bringing 101 Dalmatians’character Cruella De Vil to the big screen in a live-action feature might take a different approach to some of the previous films. Like with Maleficent, Cruella will center on the titular character’s evil journey. The upcoming live-action movie will star Emma Stone as Cruella, a diva and practitioner of cruelty to animals.
Although Stone couldn’t be at the D23 Expo this weekend, attendees were treated to a first look at Stone as Cruella. See more below for our on-site coverage from D23.
Disney’s 1941 animated feature Dumbo did not have much of a script. The film, which saw the titular pachyderm go off an adventure of a lifetime after he was separated from his mother, explores themes of friendship, tolerance of differences, and self-confidence. So when it was announced that the studio would be releasing an updated version of that with a live-action retelling, they tasked writer Ehren Kruger with expanding upon the original while also making it fresh by adding new themes to it.
At the Dumbo press conference, Kruger spoke about some of the challenges that came with expanding the animated original, which was 60 minutes long, to an updated 100-plus-minute film.
Director Tim Burton and composer Danny Elfman have collaborated as a directing and scoring duo for at least 17 films, beginning with 1985’s Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. While many would believe that the long working relationship between the two would mean that they know what they want from each other, that wouldn’t be the case, at least, according to Elfman.
After working together on such contemporary favorites like Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, the two join forces once again for Disney’s Dumbo, a live-action reimagining of Disney’s 1941 animated classic. In it, Colin Ferrell play Holt, a former circus star who finds his life turned upside down when he returns from World War I a changed man and is tasked with taking care of Dumbo, a new baby elephant whose giant ears make him the laughing stock of an already struggling circus. Little do they know that the elephant has a special talent that will not only save their circus, but also attract some persuasive entrepreneurs who will exploit that talent for their own greedy needs.
We were recently invited to sit down with our fellow journalists at the press conference for Dumbo. During that time, Elfman talked about his working relationship with the unpredictable Burton, creating new music inspired by a classic film, and more. Check out what he had to say here below.
It’s been 78 years since Disney’s animated version of Dumbo hit theaters, and now the studio will be releasing its live-action adaptation of the title of the same name later this March. Like many of their hit live-action adaptations of their animated classics, the film will be slightly different from the original. In it, Circus owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) to care for Dumbo, whose talents help the circus make a comeback while also attracting a swindling entrepreneur (Michael Keaton).
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press