Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman has swiftly dashed the rumor that Disney‘s enlisted Kenneth Branagh to direct a live-action film based on the 1990s cartoon. Hopes were high that it could’ve been true, considering how much Disney seems to want to capitalize on nostalgia with remake after remake of its most popular IPs.
When asked directly about the Belfast Telegraph‘s rumor on Twitter, Weisman rejects the rumor, believing it to be “flat-out not true.” While a movie based on the three-season show was in production and ended up in Development Hell, with the earliest signs of a film in the works being during the early days of its run, things fell silent.
In 2011, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’s David Elliot and Paul Lovett were supposedly hired for a film adaptation that never seen the light of day. That said, people want to see something new for this franchise, considering as recently as 2018, Jordan Peele took a shot at pitching his own film version directly to Disney, though, it apparently wasn’t picked up.
Even though this has dashed the hopes of many wanting to see Goliath and gang return, even if it’s for a live-action adaptation, for which Disney has a shotty record, it wouldn’t be impossible. Gargoyles isn’t Weisman’s IP, Disney owns it and can — technically — do whatever it wants, even creating something without his creative input.
He isn’t specifying whether he doesn’t believe this to be true because of direct knowledge, or if it’s because he wasn’t told about it. We wouldn’t put it past Disney to just leave the original creator out of it, even if he’s among the people wanting to see more.
Gabriel enjoys all things entertainment from writing about video games as the Managing Editor for PSX Extreme to covering the latest film and TV news for his own publication — Early Reel. Follow him on X.