If nothing else, the ongoing, unstoppable deluge of Disney live-action remakes—a force so powerful that not even a global pandemic, and the near-complete shutdown of the planet’s theaters, has been able to blunt it—has forced us to expand our horizons for horror. Today, specifically, that means having a long, hard think about what a live-action Stitch from 2002's Lilo & Stitch might look like, in all his interacting-with-actual-human-beings glory. Would it be more or less horrifying than CGI Dumbo? We’re guessing more, but god, the possibilities really are endless.
This dip into the Madness Place was brought to us today by The Wrap, which reports that Disney is reportedly in early talks with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu to direct a live-action/CGI hybrid version of the film that taught us all that “ohana” means “trapped forever, screaming, in the uncanny valley, while Kevin McDonald does schtick.” The film is currently being developed by the same production team that handled last year’s Aladdin remake, and would follow in the footsteps of the—Jesus, really?—13 live action remakes the company has released since 2010's Alice In Wonderland kicked off the trend.
THR first reported the rumor, noting that the film would probably end up landing at Disney+. Chu, meanwhile, remains a rising star in the directing world, courtesy of the massive success of Crazy Rich Asians—although his most recent film, the cinematic adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ In The Heights, is one of any number of movies to find themselves shunted out of theaters by the COVID-19 crisis.