Lilo & Stitch (upcoming film)

Last updated

Lilo & Stitch
Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp
Written byChris Kekaniokalani Bright
Based on
Lilo & Stitch
by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNigel Bluck
Production
companies
Distributed by Disney+
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Lilo & Stitch is an upcoming American science-fiction film that will be a live-action/CGI remake of Disney's 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch . The film will be directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, and produced by Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich. It will star Maia Kealoha as Lilo Pelekai and Lilo & Stitch creator Chris Sanders reprising his voice role as Stitch from the original animated continuity. Zach Galifianakis, Sydney Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Courtney B. Vance, and original continuity cast members Tia Carrere, Amy Hill, and Jason Scott Lee will also star.

Contents

Premise

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]

Cast

Production

Development

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]

Casting

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]

Filming

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]

Visual effects and design

The visual effects are provided by Industrial Light & Magic. [36]

Release

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 will be produced for a direct-to-streaming Disney+ release. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tia Carrere</span> American actress (born 1967)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Galifianakis</span> American comedian and actor (born 1969)

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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.

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Nani may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Sanders</span> American filmmaker and animator (born 1962)

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 co-directed with Dean DeBlois, The Croods (2013) with Kirk DeMicco, and The Call of the Wild (2020). He is also known for creating the story behind Lilo & Stitch and for creating and voicing its latter title character in the film and its franchise.

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<i>Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch</i> 2005 animated sci-fi comedy-drama film

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.

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<i>Lilo & Stitch</i> (franchise) Disney media franchise about extraterrestrials living with humans on Earth

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Stitch (<i>Lilo & Stitch</i>) Fictional extraterrestrial character from Disneys Lilo & Stitch franchise

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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.

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