Ever since Disney went through its library of classic animated films and remade many of them for live performances, we’ve seen a lot of talented original voices reworked. But after the upcoming live action movie “Hercules”, fans made it clear that Danny DeVito is still the only choice for Philoctetes. So what does De Vito think about reprising his role in Disney?
“Mouse House” is still in the early stages of developing a remake of “Hercules,” but a couple of months ago the film took a big step forward when the director of “Aladdin” Guy Ritchie was hired to lead the project. While we are preparing for the Hercules casting, DeVito recently answered popular Google questions. Here’s how he answered when the question was asked:
“Will Danny DeVito play in the live action movie “Hercules”? ” I’m a living Hercules, what are you talking about? Philoctetes? If they don’t put me there, they won’t have any hair on their ass.
In a video for Wired, DeVito first joked that he was a Hercules in real time, flexing his muscles and smiling at the camera, but then he became a little more serious. According to him, Disney apparently has “hair on his ass” if he doesn’t star in the upcoming remake again. It sounds like not only would the actor like to reprise the role, he sounds like he would be a little shocked if Disney recast the role.
Philoctetes is a beloved Disney character who wouldn’t be the same without Danny DeVito because so much of his own personality filled the role, even through animation. The actor must feel some responsibility for the voice role, which continues to be an iconic part of Hercules. And many fans certainly share the idea that he is the one and only Phil Hercules can train. Hey, if James Earl Jones can reprise Mufasa in Disney’s live action movie The Lion King, why can’t De Vito do the same for Hercules?
The remake of “Hercules” will be produced by the Russo brothers, who worked on the Marvel films “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Captain America: Civil War”, “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Finale”. The script is written by Dave Callaham, the author of such blockbusters as “Shang Chi”, “Legend of the Ten Rings” and “The Expendables”. The specific vision of the Hercules remake has not been disclosed, but Russo talked about creating this new story about Hercules from the classic Disney cartoon.
It is quite possible that the upcoming film about Hercules will not even have Philoctetes, and it may become a complete reproduction of Greek mythological history. But for the sake of nostalgia, which feeds these films very much, Hercules fans would absolutely go crazy (in a good way) if De Vito reprised his Disney role.
We will let you know as soon as we learn about the casting of Hercules. At the moment, Danny DeVito’s last role is the role of Satan in the animated series “Little Demon”. And, of course, you can revisit the 1997 classics with a Disney+ subscription.
