Lilo & Stitch | |
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Directed by | Dean Fleischer Camp |
Written by | Chris Kekaniokalani Bright |
Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Nigel Bluck |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release date |
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Country | United States |
Language | English |
Lilo & Stitch is an upcoming American science fiction film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp and written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback, the film will be a live-action/CGI remake of Disney's 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch . It will star Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai, with Lilo & Stitch writer-director Chris Sanders reprising his voice role as Stitch. Zach Galifianakis, Sydney Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance, and original cast members Tia Carrere, Amy Hill, and Jason Scott Lee will also star.
Lilo & Stitch is scheduled to be released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on May 23, 2025.
The film tells the story of "the bond formed between a lonely human girl named Lilo and a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is engineered to be a force of destruction. Pursuing aliens, social workers, and the idea of the bond of family figure into the proceedings." [1]
On October 3, 2018, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was developing a live-action/computer-generated animation hybrid film remake of Disney's 2002 animated feature film Lilo & Stitch . The film was set to be adapted by Mike Van Waes, produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, and co-produced by Ryan Halprin. [1] [13] On October 24, 2018, Van Waes revealed that he began to work on the remake's script. [14] On November 13, 2020, Jon M. Chu entered talks to direct the film, while Van Waes was reported to have left the project, with the studio looking for a new screenwriter to re-write Van Waes's script, [15] [16] though Chu would ultimately not direct the film due to other obligations. On July 14, 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that Dean Fleischer Camp was chosen to direct instead, while Chris Kekaniokalani Bright was in talks to rewrite the script; [17] Bright was fully confirmed to be the writer in February 2023. [5] The day after Deadline Hollywood's announcement of Fleischer Camp and Bright's involvement, Van Waes quote tweeted from Deadline Hollywood's tweet on their article, welcoming Fleischer Camp and Bright to the film's production, possibly indicating that he is still involved with the film. [18]
The film was given the working title Bad Dog, a reference to the ever-misbehaving Stitch being mistaken for and adopted as a dog, while the new production company established for the film was named "Blue Koala Pictures, Inc." in reference to a typical description of the character's physical appearance. [19]
While it was speculated that the original film's co-writer/co-director, Chris Sanders, would reprise his role as the voice of Stitch in the remake, Sanders claimed in a September 2022 interview that Disney had not yet approached him on reprising the role, although he stated that he is always open to returning to voice his creation. [20]
It was reported in November 2022 that a casting call has been issued for the film. [2] The initial casting call was later tweeted on November 22 by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment. [3]
In February 2023, Zach Galifianakis joined the cast in a then-unspecified role. While TheWrap reported at the time that he would voice Pleakley, [5] The Hollywood Reporter contradicted them in April when they reported that Galifianakis was instead voicing Dr. Jumba Jookiba. [10] In late March, Maia Kealoha was cast in the lead role as Lilo Pelekai. [4]
In April 2023, Billy Magnussen was cast as the voice of Agent Pleakley, [10] and Sydney Agudong was cast as Nani Pelekai. [7] Later that month, Kahiau Machado was cast as David Kawena, [8] while Courtney B. Vance was cast as Cobra Bubbles, who fans initially believed was cut from the film's cast of characters. [11] Tia Carrere and Amy Hill, who both voiced roles in the original film and its original sequel material such as Lilo & Stitch: The Series , were cast in new roles, with Sanders in final negotiations to reprise his voice role as Stitch. [10]
The castings of Agudong and Machado were met with controversy on social media shortly after their announcements, with accusations of colorism and whitewashing towards Disney and the film's casting crew, as the two actors are of lighter skin tones than their characters' original animated counterparts. [21] [22] Sydney Agudong—the older sister of actress Siena Agudong—is a mixed-race woman born and raised on Kaua'i (where the franchise is mainly set) to a Caucasian mother and a father who is Filipino. [21] [23] [22] Agudong received comments on her Instagram account attacking her for accepting the role. [24] After Internet users discovered that Machado previously used a racial slur on his Spotify and Instagram accounts, Disney quietly recast him with Kaipo Dudoit. [10] [9] [25] Machado later posted an apology for his prior use of the slur via Instagram on April 27, 2023. [25]
In June 2023, Jason Scott Lee, who voiced David Kawena in the original film and Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005), revealed on the podcast Kyle Meredith With... that he will have a cameo in the film as the manager of the luau where Nani and David work at. [12] [26]
Principal photography was slated to start in Oahu, Hawaii, on March 13, 2023, [27] and finish on June 16. [28] However, the first day of filming was later delayed to April 17. [29]
On April 16, 2023, a fire broke out in a trailer within the base camp of the film's set in Haleiwa, causing approximately $200,000 in damage. [29] [30] [31] The trailer contained costumes that would have been used for the first three weeks of filming. [32] The fire started before 11 PM HST and was extinguished by 1 AM the following day. [29] [30] [31] There were no reported injuries, although the beginning of filming was delayed indefinitely. The Honolulu Police Department classified it as a first-degree arson and opened an investigation in response. [29] [30] [31] [32]
Filming eventually began by May 1, 2023, when a portion of the Kalanianaole Highway was closed for the film's production. [33] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. [34] It eventually resumed in February 2024 and finally wrapped in early March that year. [35]
The visual effects are provided by Industrial Light & Magic. [36]
A first look at the film's live-action Stitch design was revealed at the 2024 D23 convention. [37] [38] Screen Rant and Collider both reacted positively to the reveal. [39] [40]
In November 2020, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney had not determined whether the film would be released theatrically or through Disney+. [15] [16] In November 2022, it was confirmed via a casting call that the film was to be produced for a direct-to-streaming Disney+ release. [3] In August 2024, the film was shifted to a summer 2025 theatrical release, [41] and in October, the film was given a release date of May 23, 2025, pitting it against the untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film. [42]
Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois and produced by Clark Spencer, based on an original story created by Sanders. It stars Daveigh Chase and Sanders as the voices of the title characters, with the voices of Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Jason Scott Lee, Zoe Caldwell, and Kevin Michael Richardson in supporting roles. It was the second of three Disney animated feature films produced primarily at the Florida animation studio in Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
Daveigh Elizabeth Chase is an American actress. She began her career appearing in minor television roles before being cast as Samantha Darko in Richard Kelly's cult film Donnie Darko. She would subsequently provide the voices of Chihiro Ogino in the English dub of the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away, and Lilo Pelekai in the Disney animated feature film Lilo & Stitch and its subsequent franchise, before appearing as Samara Morgan, the child antagonist in the 2002 horror film The Ring.
Althea Rae Duhinio Janairo, known professionally as Tia Carrere, is an American actress and singer who got her first big break as a regular on the daytime soap opera General Hospital.
Zachary Knight Galifianakis is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Alan in The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013). On television, he starred in the FX series Baskets (2016–2019), which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2017. He also hosted the Funny or Die talk show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018).
Lilo & Stitch: The Series is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It premiered on September 20, 2003, on ABC as part of ABC Kids, with a delayed premiere on Disney Channel on October 12, 2003. The series ended on July 29, 2006, after airing 65 episodes in two seasons.
Jason Scott Lee is an American actor and martial artist. He played Mowgli in Disney's 1994 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book and Bruce Lee in the 1993 martial arts film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.
Stitch! The Movie is a 2003 American direct-to-video animated science fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and Rough Draft Korea, released on August 26, 2003. It is produced by Tony Craig, Jess Winfield, and Roberts "Bobs" Gannaway; Gannaway also co-wrote and co-directed with Winfield and Craig, respectively. It is the second film released in the Lilo & Stitch franchise and the third film chronologically, taking place after the 2002 first film and the 2005 direct-to-video sequel Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. The film also serves as the backdoor pilot of the spin-off sequel series Lilo & Stitch: The Series, which Craig, Winfield, and Gannaway executive produced and debuted the following month. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625 experiments that he created with the financing of Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel.
Nani may refer to:
Christopher Michael Sanders is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. His credits include Lilo & Stitch (2002) and How to Train Your Dragon (2010), both of which he co-wrote and directed with Dean DeBlois; The Croods (2013) with Kirk DeMicco; The Call of the Wild (2020); and The Wild Robot (2024). He created the character Stitch in 1985, wrote the film's story, and voiced Stitch in almost all his media appearances.
Leroy & Stitch is a 2006 American animated science fiction comedy television film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was written by Bobs Gannaway and Jess Winfield, the latter of whom also served as producer alongside Igor Khait, and directed by Gannaway and Tony Craig. It is the fourth feature film in the Lilo & Stitch franchise and the third and final sequel feature film to the 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch, serving as the finale of Lilo & Stitch: The Series and concluding the franchise's main continuity where Lilo Pelekai is a main character and Hawaii is the main setting. It is the last Western-animated production in the franchise to date. The film debuted on Disney Channel on June 23, 2006, and was also aired on Toon Disney on June 26, 2006.
Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch is a 2005 American direct-to-video animated science fiction comedy drama film produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios. It was directed by Tony Leondis and Michael LaBash, both of whom co-wrote the film with Eddie Guzelian and Alexa Junge. It is the third film released in the Lilo & Stitch franchise and the second film in the franchise's animated chronology, taking place between the events of Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Lilo & Stitch: The Series pilot film Stitch! The Movie (2003), serving mainly as a direct sequel to the former. It was released on DVD and VHS on August 30, 2005, and is the last Lilo & Stitch film to be released in the latter format.
"Aloha ʻOe" is a Hawaiian folk song written c. 1878 by Liliʻuokalani, who was then Princess of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It is her most famous song and is a common cultural symbol for Hawaii.
Lilo & Stitch, also marketed as Disney Stitch or simply Stitch, is an American media franchise created by Disney that commenced in 2002 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. The combined critical and commercial success of the original film, which was a rarity for the company's feature animation studio during the studio's post-Renaissance downturn in the early 2000s, led to three direct-to-video and television sequel feature films, a short film, three animated television series, several video games, theme park attractions, comics, literature, and various merchandise.
Stitch, also known as Experiment 626, is a fictional character from Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise. A genetically engineered, extraterrestrial life-form resembling a blue koala, he is the more prominent of the franchise's two title protagonists, the other being his human adopter and best friend Lilo Pelekai.
Stitch & Ai is an English-language-produced donghua television series and a spin-off of Disney's Lilo & Stitch franchise. It is the franchise's third TV series, after the Western animated Lilo & Stitch: The Series and the Japanese Stitch! anime series. It was produced with the assistance of American animators. Set in Huangshan, Anhui, the thirteen-episode series features a Chinese girl named Wang Ai Ling in place of the original 2002–06 Western continuity's Lilo Pelekai and the anime's Yuna Kamihara as the titular human companion of the alien Stitch.
Snow White is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by Greta Gerwig and Erin Cressida Wilson. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action remake of Walt Disney Productions' 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which itself is based on the 1812 fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm. The film stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
Moana is an upcoming American musical action-adventure fantasy film directed by Thomas Kail in his narrative feature directorial debut, written by Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, and produced by Dwayne Johnson, Hiram and Dany Garcia, and Beau Flynn. It is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 2016 animated film Moana, and the third installment in the Moana franchise overall. It stars Catherine Lagaʻaia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson reprising his role as Maui.
Reports said Machado shared a Spotify playlist and an Instagram post that contained the N-word. The Hawaii actor posted an apology on social media Thursday night saying he's sorry for posting it online and he's learned a lot since the posts he made as a teenager.