Disney
"The Sword in the Stone" is one of many live-action adaptations in the works at Disney.
The animated movie, about a young King Arthur and his mentor-wizard Merlin, will be produced by Brigham Taylor ("Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It's the latest in a long line of Disney classics the Mouse House is adapting to the big screen.
In total, Disney currently has 13 live-action adaptations in the works.
Here's a quick look at them all:
"Alice in Wonderland 2" (2016)
"Aladdin" prequel about the Genie
"Beauty & the Beast" (2017)
"Chip 'n Dale"
"Dumbo"
"Fantasia" spinoff for villain Chernabog
"Jungle Book"
"Mulan"
"Peter Pan" spinoff "Tink"
"Pinocchio"
"The Sword in the Stone"
"Winnie the Pooh"
Some "Prince Charming" project
Why is Disney announcing so many of these live-action versions of classics?
The easy answer is because Disney has had proven success with previous live-action films like "Maleficent" ($758.4 million) and "Cinderella" ($539.5 million).
However, just because "Maleficent" performed well at the box-office, which I'd argue was partially because the film followed a similar set up to its popular "Once Upon a Time" series on ABC - humanize a popular villain and tell the story from their point of view -and subsequently "Cinderella," which I would argue had a lot to do with an exclusive "Frozen" short playing ahead of the film, that doesn't mean that anything Disney turns into live action will be gold.
Disney
"Maleficent" starring Angelina Jolie was a big hit for Disney last year.
Yes, there was also "Alice in Wonderland" - the surprise 2010 $1 billion film. But anytime Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up, you're likely to have a hit. Even "Dark Shadows" ended up with a satisfactory $245 million gross after accounting for international grosses.
That's not to say that a lot of these live action films won't perform well.
However, it's a little crazy to have more than a dozen live-action films in the works before proving this is a formula which can actually succeed in the long run.
That's where the other reasoning behind Disney's live-action versions of their beloved animated tales kicks in - the Mouse House is having a difficult time putting out successful homemade live-action hits of its own.
While Disney Animation has a few hits on its hands of recent (most obviously "Frozen"), when you look at the studio's live action slate of late, there isn't a lot to gloat over other than "Maleficent," "Into the Woods," and "Cinderella," all films based off of fairytales.
| Movie | Release date | Worldwide box office | Estimated budget |
| "Oz the Great and Powerful" | 3/8/2013 | $493.3 million | $215 million |
| "The Lone Ranger" | 7/3/2013 | $260.5 million | $215 million+ |
| "The Fifth Estate" (DreamWorks Pictures) | 10/18/2013 | $8.6 million | $28 million |
| "Delivery Man" (DreamWorks Pictures) | 11/22/2013 | $51 million | $26 million |
| "Saving Mr. Banks" | 12/13/2013 | $112.5 million | $35 million |
| "Need for Speed" (DreamWorks Pictures) | 3/14/2014 | $203.3 million | $66 million |
| "Muppets Most Wanted" | 3/21/2014 | $80.4 million | $50 million |
| "Million Dollar Arm" | 5/16/2014 | $38.3 million | $25 million |
| "Maleficent" | 5/30/2014 | $758.4 million | $180 million |
| "The Hundred Foot Journey" (DreamWorks Pictures) | 8/8/2014 | $88.9 million | $22 million |
| "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" | 10/10/2014 | $100.7 million | $28 million |
| "Into the Woods" | 12/25/2014 | $212.9 million | $50 million |
| "McFarland, USA" | 2/20/2015 | $44.5 million | $17 million |
| "Cinderella" | 3/13/2015 | $539.5 million | $95 million |
| "Tomorrowland" | 5/22/2015 | $203.7 million | $190 million |
Instead, the studio is becoming very reliant on the success of its purchased properties Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar to put out hit after hit.
Looking ahead at 2016, Disney is set just from those three entities alone.
Marvel
"Captain America: Civil War": May 6, 2016
"Doctor Strange": November 4, 2016
Pixar
"Finding Dory": June 17, 2016
Lucasfilm
"Star Wars: Rogue One": December 16, 2016
Marvel
While "Captain America" and other Marvel and Lucasfilm movies can do the heavy box-office lifting for Disney, the Mouse House would like to put out some of its own original live-action films as well.
The push for live-action films comes from Disney's need to be able to put out some original hits on its own.
Disney's partnership with DreamWorks Pictures will come to a close in 2016 after releasing films including "The Fifth Estate," "Need for Speed" and "Delivery Man." The studio could be heading to Paramount or Universal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. THR notes that Disney currently receives 10 percent of revenues for releasing DreamWorks' films.
With money rolling in from Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, this gives the Mouse House time to experiment with its own live-action theatrical releases. Why not do what worked for them in the past? A minor hiccup in performance at the box office probably won't hurt too badly if there's a $1 billion Marvel film to pick up the slack.
Time will tell if nostalgia pays off for Disney in the long run. It has so far.