Reboot of 90s family adventure movie 'Free Willy' in works
Washington DC, July 10
Warner Bros is developing a reboot of the 90s family adventure movie 'Free Willy', reported Variety.
The makers have onboarded Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett to write a screenplay for the new movie.
Released in 1993, 'Free Willy,' is about an orphaned boy who befriends a captive orca. The movie has spawned multiple theatrical sequels, an animated television series, and a direct-to-video continuation. The movie, which starred an orca named Keiko, also dispelled myths about the killer whale and inspired activism around their captivity.
AGBO's Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting will produce the film with executive producers including the Russo brothers and Lauren Shuler Donner, who has been behind the franchise since the original film.
According to Variety, Kunze and Bartlett are creative partners under the Biscuit Belly Productions banner. In 2024, Bartlett made her directorial debut with Lionsgate's "Miller's Girl," which she wrote and directed. The script, which Bartlett adapted from her original play, was featured on the Black List in 2016; she made the list in 2017 with "Mad," based on Chloe Esposito's novel.
Most recently, she created the Netflix series 'Icebreaker,' based on the novel by Hannah Grace.
Kunze most recently served as a non-writing co-executive producer on "The Boroughs" from the Duffer Brothers and Netflix. Her resume also includes serving as a non-writing executive producer on "A House on the Bayou" and "The Thing About Pam," for Blumhouse Television, as well as a term as a creative executive at Marvel Television and co-producer on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Cloak & Dagger," "Daredevil" and "The Runaways."
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good that they're rebooting this classic! But I hope they also include some message about marine conservation in an Indian context. We have so many coastal communities that depend on the ocean. Maybe they could show how releasing captive animals helps local ecosystems. Just my two paise.
As a wildlife biologist who worked in India, I'm cautiously optimistic. The original film actually changed public perception about orcas in captivity. But I'm concerned about the producers - the Russo brothers have done great work, but some of the other names attached are questionable. Let's hope the screenplay focuses on the boy-whale bond and not just action sequences.
Finally something wholesome from Hollywood! Bollywood's been remaking everything from South films, nice to see West digging into their vault too. But yaar, why can't they just stream the original on Netflix instead? My kids need to see the 1993 version first before this new one. Also, that whale Keiko's story was so real and sad.
Not a fan of reboots generally. They just cash in on nostalgia without adding anything new. Plus, with all the woke messaging nowadays, they'll probably make the whale a metaphor for climate change or something. Just give us a simple story about friendship and freedom. Original mein jo emotion tha, woh dubara nahi aa sakta.
Interesting. The original was groundbreaking because it used a real orca and raised awareness about captivity. Today, with places like Marineland and others under scrutiny in India's tourism industry, this could be very timely. I just hope they don't whitewash the story or make it too American-centric
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