Honey I Shrunk the Kids: Original Director Joe Johnston in Talks to Return for Disney+ Reboot

Honey I Shrunk the Kids: Original director Joe Johnston in talks to return for Disney+ reboot

According to Variety, Joe Johnston, who was the director of the 1989 classic sci-fi comedy Honey I Shrunk the Kids, is reportedly in talks to helm Disney+‘s forthcoming reboot which will be led by Frozen star Josh Gad as the son of Rick Moranis’ character Wayne Szalinski. The first film was Johnston’s feature directorial debut, who went on to direct other classic 90s’ films such as 1995’s Jumanji starring Robin Williams and Jake Gyllenhaal’s 1999 drama October Sky. His other film credits include Jurassic Park II, Captain America: The First Avenger and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

The Honey, I Shrunk the Kids reboot, which will be set three decades after the original, will focus on Nick Szalinski, Wayne’s son who was enlargened in the second film, as he repeats the problems of his father’s past and accidentally shrinks his kids and must find a way to fix the problem. Gad will take on the role.

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The original, which hit theaters in the summer of ’89, starred Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters) as the brilliant but flawed inventor and scientist Wayne Szalinski as he is working on a new ray gun that can shrink down any object to minuscule proportions, but after failing numerous times is ready to give up on the project. That is until a freak accident shrinks down both his two kids, Amy and Nick, and his neighbor’s sons Russ and Ron and must find a way to fix it when they get lost in their backyard that is like a wild jungle filled with danger.

Receiving very positive reviews from critics and held the record for the highest-grossing live-action Disney film ever for five years with over $222 million at the global box office. The film spawned one theatrical sequel, Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and one direct-to-video sequel Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, both of which earned markedly lower reviews than their predecessor.

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Though Disney has been developing a number of live-action remakes of their past projects for their upcoming streaming service, Disney+, Slash Film reports that Shrunk will actually be developed for a theatrical release. This marks prime marketing potential for the larger-than-ever studio as they bring back one of their biggest-selling stars in a prime position, Gad voices the fan-favorite Olaf the Snowman in the Frozen franchise, portrayed LeFou in the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast and will star as Mulch Diggums in the upcoming Artemis Fowl adaptation.

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