We all know that Disney is in the midst of giving all of their animated movies the live-action treatment. One of the many live-action remakes in development is based on the 1997 animated Hercules movie, which featured the voices of Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, Susan Egan, and James Woods. From time to time, Disney includes members of the original voice cast in the remakes (such as James Earl Jones in The Lion King), and Danny DeVito thinks he should return for the live-action Hercules movie.
Danny DeVito voiced Philoctetes in the original Hercules movie, a satyr who trains the young Hercules to be a hero. While speaking with Wired, DeVito joked that he is the live-action Hercules, but added, “If they don’t put me in that, they don’t have a hair on their ass.” There’s no mistaking Danny DeVito as the voice of Phil, and the character has grown to become beloved by fans. If Phil winds up being a CG character in Hercules, it would be amazing to bring DeVito back to voice him… and hell, strap some horns and a furry tush on DeVito, and he could play the role in live-action as well.
Guy Ritchie, who previously brought Aladdin into the realm of live-action, is set to direct Hercules. Disney is looking for writers to take a stab at the script after the first draft was penned by Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). Here’s the synopsis of the original film: “Disney tackles Greek mythology in this animated feature. Hercules (Donovan), a son of gods, was snatched as a baby by Hades (Woods) and forced to live among mortals as a half-man, half-god. Now a teenager, Hercules needs to perform a rite of passage on Earth to prove himself worthy of living with the gods on Mount Olympus. With his plucky satyr sidekick, Philoctetes (DeVito), along for the ride, Hercules must learn how to use his strength to defeat a series of evil creatures.”
Would you like to see Danny DeVito return for the live-action Hercules movie?