Will Disney bring Hercules to Broadway?

They kinda have to bring it in, don’t they?

Id be very surprised. At least in its current state.

I maintain there is a great show to be made from it, better than Aladdin. But, much as I enjoyed it in London, its still very much a wasted opportunity. 

Disney clearly dont care/have faith in it as an IP. Which is such a shame, and also false. The show sold out its previews before its first performance, and was selling well initially.  But I think the mixed word of mouth has killed it a bit. Its quite cheaply/lazily done, and low effort. Frustrating ad it could be so good

 

Disney has basically become a parody of themselves. Aladdin was a major mess of a show. What made the movie enjoyable was destroyed on stage ( of course no one was ever going to be Robin Williams ) but it came across as a school pantomime. 
From what I hear and read from those that have seen it, sadly Hercules is the same. 

rosscoe(au) said: "Disney has basically become a parody of themselves. Aladdin was a major mess of a show. What made the movie enjoyable was destroyed on stage ( of course no one was ever going to be Robin Williams ) but it came across as a school pantomime.
From what I hear and read from those that have seen it, sadly Hercules is the same."

Hot take, but I saw the Toronto tryout of Aladdin, where his three friends (Babkak, Omar, and Kassim) were narrators, and would come out and sing a few verses of Arabian Nights between scenes, and I like it. It was different, and I think they should have worked longer with the idea instead of scrapping it, because when I saw the show about 10 years later, I felt like I was watching a Christmas panto. All the acting was so broad and playing every line like it was a joke. 

RippedMan said: "I mean same director, no? Maybe stop using him…"

I mean, they work with him for the same reason they work with directors they do on their films. They're Yes Men and don't give push back. A musical (just like the movies) made by studio committee, not a director and creative team. Just get it to the finish line. 

I miss the days when Disney worked with directors like Julie Taymor and Francesca Zambello. Even Grandage’s directing portfolio is far more exciting than Nicholaw’s. 
 

It’s interesting that they’ve decided to license out The Princess Bride instead of producing it in house.

Updated On: 2/20/26 at 01:55 PM

Frozen is genuinely one of the worst musicals I’ve ever seen.  I hated Aladdin and think I’d rank Frozen even lower.  Julie Taymor said she was only going to do The Lion King if it was pure theater and they need to go back to that.  I would think someone like Alex Timbers would be a pretty good director for a Disney show given how he excels at spectacle.  Maybe they can do another out of town of Hercules with another director 

Merkin2 said: "Frozen is genuinely one of the worst musicals I’ve ever seen. I hated Aladdin and think I’d rank Frozen even lower. Julie Taymor said she was only going to do The Lion King if it was pure theater and they need to goback to that. I would think someone like Alex Timbers would be a pretty good director for a Disney show given how he excels at spectacle. Maybe they can do another out of town of Hercules with another director"

 

Yes I agree. even with the original BATB, it looks more period than animated and they should resume that style. 

 

Merkin2 said: "Julie Taymor said she was only going to do The Lion King if it was pure theater and they need to go back to that."

Seeing how Disney tried to replicate that success with Tarzan and The Little Mermaid, but failed miserably, it's understandable why they haven't been pursuing high brow theatre directors as of late.

Updated On: 2/20/26 at 04:50 PM

Timbers and Disney have seem to have mended some bridges between The Muppets special he did and he’s working on The Princess Bride stage adaptation. As previously mentioned Disney is no longer leading the charge on TPB and has given Jeffrey Seller the producing reins.

Updated On: 2/20/26 at 05:03 PM