Disney is returning to Notre Dame.
The studio is developing a live-action remake of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Disney is tapping Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang to pen the feature that will draw from the 1831 Victor Hugo novel and the 1996 Disney animated movie.
Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, who earned an Oscar nomination for their work on the 1996 feature, will return to handle the music. The movie will not draw from the staged Hunchback production from Menken and Schwartz.
Mandeville is producing along with Josh Gad, who starred in Mandeville and Disney’s 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast, which grossed more than $1 billion at the box office.
While the project would follow Disney’s proved winning model of remaking its animated hits, Hunchback is not currently a priority for the studio, which is gearing up for the release of Aladdin, The Lion King and Dumbo and has Lady and the Tramp and Mulan lined up. (Lady and the Tramp will be a Disney+ streaming service offering.)
Hwang is repped by Paradigm and Schreck Rose.
