Disney cancels Mouse Guard two weeks before production start

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The Disney-Fox merger has seen several casualties since being solidified at the end of March (mostly the loss of thousands of jobs) and now the upcoming movie MOUSE GUARD can be added to the pile. Disney has officially halted production on the new comic adaptation from 20th Century Fox and did so only two weeks before production was set to begin.

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Set to be directed by Wes Ball (THE MAZE RUNNER) and produced by Matt Reeves, Ross Ritchie and Stephen Christy, THR confirmed that Disney put the trap on MOUSE GUARD on Wednesday. In the main cast the movie was set to star Andy Serkis as Midnight, Idris Elba as Celanawe, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Lieam and Samson Kayo as Saxson, all of whom would be playing warrior mice who would be brought to life through motion capture and CGI from WETA Digital. 

According to the report, sources claim the move comes as Disney tries to limit the number of big-budget movies Fox has planned, with GUARDS’ cast of CGI animal creatures being too similar to movies Disney has planned, like THE LION KING and JUNGLE BOOK. Instead, sources say Disney wants Fox to focus more on low-budget family movies, and PG-13 and R-rated adult fare. At a reported budget of about $170 million, GUARD was a movie Disney apparently did not like the idea of and are thus not moving ahead with the project. However, they are continuing to keep the train chugging on Fox movies like AVATAR, as well as DEATH ON THE NILE, Ryan Reynolds’ FREE GUY and more.

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Written by David Peterson, the Eisner-winning graphic novel series has been described as “Game of Thrones with mice,” and is set in a humanless, medieval time where a band of mouse warriors, the "Mouse Guard", is sworn to protect their brethren from any vicious predators. Meant to be a franchise starter, the producers are reportedly looking for a new home for the movie adaptation, with places like Paramount and Netflix a possibility.

Well, this sort of sucks for anyone looking forward to this action flick with CGI mice, especially anyone who is a fan of the comics. That being said, perhaps this was a wise move for Disney. They already have a ton of blockbusters hitting theaters, and to have another major arm of their company also dishing out big-budget movies their slate becomes a bit crowded. Maybe it's better for another studio to take on the project so Disney isn't controlling the whole market. The project sounds interesting and rather unique, so I hope it finds a home because, truly, "Game of Thrones with mice" sounds pretty amazing.