Joe Russo gives update on making new Hercules “for a modern audience”

The director also elaborated on those TikTok comments.

By Louise Griffin

Published: Friday, 28 April 2023 at 12:00 am

It’s fair to say the Russo Brothers have taken on an unenviable task with their live-action version of Hercules.

Considered by some as a flawless film, the 1997 Disney animation is completely beloved – not least because it’s arguably some of composer Alan Menken’s best work.

So, when the Avengers: Endgame directors announced they were working on a live-action version of the classic, helmed by Guy Ritchie, and it was later reported that they were “inspired by TikTok”, not everyone was on board.

Sharing an update exclusively with RadioTimes.com, Joe Russo explained: “Disney is very thoughtful about their IP and everyone working on it, of course, has lots of other things that they’re working on but we are slowly working our way through how to tell that story to a modern audience.

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Russo Brothers (Getty)

“It’s one of my favourite projects we’re working on and everyone involved in it is very exciting, from Guy Ritchie on down.”

Elaborating on what he meant by those TikTok comments, Russo added: “We live in a world where most of your audience under 30 is now informed by their social media habits and it changes the way that they consume content and information and storytelling. As the storyteller, you have to be aware of changing habits.

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“I think Matilda was a great example of a movie that, because of TikTok, it became a bit of a sensation with an under-30 audience.

“I think that’s part of the fun of telling global stories, when people all over the world are suddenly mimicking a dance from a clip from your movie and I got as much enjoyment as anybody out of watching those Matilda clips and that’s what I was speaking to – this idea of understanding what world you live in and how people are communicating and what it is that excites them about new stories.”

Russo previously told Variety of the upcoming film: “There are questions about how you translate it as a musical.

“Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like? That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical.”