After several misfires, Disney struck chaotic gold this year withLilo & Stitch, and now lovers of the little blue alien – and there are millions of them – can relive his live-action hijinks at home as the movie is now available on all VOD platforms. The release today, July 22, comes after the movie became thefirst Disney live-action remake to pass $1 billion at the box officesinceThe Lion Kingin 2019.
Disney’s live-action remakes of some of their classic animated movies started off well with movies likeThe Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, andAladdinall proving to be huge box office winners. However, recent years have seenThe Little MermaidandSnow Whitebecome bogged down by huge waves of negativityaround “woke” casting and other controversial changes. However,Lilo & Stitchhas bucked the trend to put Disney back on track – although much of that success is really just down to the inexplicable obsession the world has with its central alien character.
Every Live-Action Disney Remake Coming After ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
With a slew of animated features waiting to be remade, Disney live-action remakes are certainly here to stay.
Even before Disney announced their live-action remake of the 2002 animated movie, the popularity of Stitch was beyond anything else experienced by any other Disney character. While everyone remembers the Christmas chaos surrounding Buzz Lightyear toys, even that pales in comparison to how much merchandising is available featuring Stich in many guises. The arrival of the new movie just allowed Disney to continue to expand the range of toys and apparel available, now using the new live-action design of the character alongside the original animated version.
‘Lilo & Stitch 2’ Is Already in the Works
Back in June, it was announced that, as expected, a sequel toLilo & Stitchwas being put into development. Having already made it clear that the House of Mouse’s priorities include wringing plenty of cash from their most popular IPs, there are few more lucrative thanLilo & Stitchright now.
While no details have been revealed about what the story of the new movie will be, there are a few different options available. Just asThe Lion KingdeliveredMufasa: The Lion Kingas its follow-up movie, which acted as both a sequel and a prequel to the original, but did not simply follow the existing animated sequels,Lilo & Stitch 2could take inspiration from one of the several other Stitch movies that have been released, or it could choose to tell a completely new story. Either way, it is hard to see the popularity of the franchise waning in the next few years, and that means Disney should be looking at another record-breaking hit.
Disney had been pulling back on the production of their live-action movies after the trauma surroundingSnow White’s release, and the disappointing box office of both that and 2023’sThe Little Mermaid, as well as previous movies likeMulanandDumbo. However,Lilo & Stitchcould certainly see the wheels begin to move again on some of the stalled projects sitting on the desks of Disney employees.
The next challenge for Disney’s live-action list will beMoana, which is currently set for release in summer 2026, and the performance of that movie could well decide what happens with other titles such asBambi, The Aristocats, Hercules, andTangled.
Source: Disney
Lilo & Stitch
