In new that is sure to exacerbate the widening generational gap between millennials and Gen Z, the Russo Brothers gave the world an update on what they’re getting up to over the next couple of years, including the live-action rendition of Hercules.
Besides the pair revealing that they likely won’t be getting involved in any MCU-related projects until the decade’s end, they’ve given an update on their collaboration with Disney on Hercules, bringing Guy Ritchie, the man behind 2019’s Aladdin adaptation, on board to direct.
Finally, the cherry on top of the disappointment sundae, the production team will be drawing inspiration from TikTok for the film, which will be a musical. This little detail is what the world is fixated on – and it shows with this long string of reactions.
Joe Russo explains that he and the team are looking to push the boundaries around how a modern musical is executed, saying there are questions about how the source material should be translated. Per his conversation with Variety, he namedrops the social media platform:
“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.”
While there have been stories told about social media platforms in cinema, as well as experimental works that have used social media as a vessel to tell a story such as Unfriended, many thought they’d never see the day that they saw the hyperbolic tagline ‘Inspired by the hit social media platform, TikTok’. Especially when it comes to adapting a children’s story about a Greek demigod’s quest to become a true hero.
Outside of Hercules, The Russos and their production company AGBO are working with Netflix on a sequel and prequel to The Grey Man, as well as The Electric State starring Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt.