Nightmare Before Christmas might get the Live Action Remake Treatment

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS might be the latest in a long line of Disney movies to be reimagined as a live action film. According to Moviehole, Henry Selick's famous stop motion animation story might be the next film on the docket to get the live action update, joining the ranks of THE LION KING, ALADDIN, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, DUMBO, and more. Given this recent trend among their animated movies, it wouldn't be too surprising if Disney decided it might be time for NIGHTMARE to get upgraded.

Produced by Tim Burton and adapted from the story he originally wrote, Selick's 1993 film premiered to average box office success, but gained a huge fanbase over the years that followed. Disney of course noticed this rise in popularity, and as a result, exploited the Halloweentown classic as much as humanly possible by pumping out accessories, t-shirts, dolls, candies, and re-issuing the film every season with tiny updates and big price increases. In other words, the studio realizes they have a cash cow, and they plan to milk it for as long as they can.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Halloween (is it a Christmas movie?) themed feature is in talks to become the next in line to get the live action remake treatment. What better way to sell new merchandise that ties in with the property? Moviehole reports that there’s talk at Disney to “do something with “NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS” – probably a sequel but live-action possible”. Of course, this might mean that we'll simply be getting a sequel, which could still be animated. However, Disney's recent pattern suggests that humans might soon be donning the face of the Pumpkin King. Don't ask me how they'd pull that one off, unless they went the LION KING CG-fueled route.

It's also worth noting that in 2018, TokyoPop released a comic-book sequel to the film, “Nightmare Before Christmas: Zero’s Journey,” which followed Jack Skellington’s dog, Zero, as he gets lost in Christmas Town. This could possibly serve as proper source material for a possible animated sequel, if Disney chooses to take that path.

No matter what they decide to do, there's definitely talks about another entry in the NIGHTMARE verse happening over at the House of Mouse. My guess is the studio will see how their upcoming LION KING and ALADDIN do at the box office before they set any live action NIGHTMARE plans in stone.

How do y'all feel about this news? Would you like to see this early '90s horror classic remade with real actors? Would you be down for an animated sequel? Should we stop trying to kick a dead horse? Sound off in the comments below and let your voice be heard!