Exclusive: Taron Egerton Frontrunner For Disney’s Hercules
Taron Egerton is in strong consideration to portray Hercules in Guy Ritchie's live-action remake of the Disney film.
Rocketman actor Taron Egerton is currently leading the pack to be cast in the upcoming remake of Disney’s Hercules. According to our trusted and proven sources, the Kingsman: The Secret Service star is close to being cast as the live-action version of the mythological Greek demigod, which would seem to be a good fit for his combination of action chops and humor. While there have been no casting announcements for the remake as of yet, Taron Egerton as Hercules makes a decent amount of sense.
The original animated Disney Hercules film was released in 1997, on the tail end of the Disney Renaissance, and starred Tate Donovan as the voice of the hero (with Josh Keaton providing his voice as a teen and Roger Bart performing singing duties). The success of Disney’s live-action remakes like the Will Smith version of Aladdin and the Donald Glover/Beyonce version of The Lion King has made new versions of virtually every movie in the company’s catalog inevitable, hence the probability of Taron Egerton playing Hercules.
In addition to Taron Egerton closing in on the role of live-action Hercules, it is rumored that former Superman star Henry Cavill is in consideration to play Hades, the villain of the film. If Cavill is cast, it would certainly be an offbeat choice; as originally voiced by James Woods, the God of the Underworld is portrayed as a fast-talking, faux-friendly comedic bad guy, which is not something that Cavill is known for. On the other hand, after losing/departing his very high-profile Superman gig for the DC Universe and his role as Geralt of Rivia in Netflix’s The Witcher, it might be time for Henry Cavill to expand his range.
For his part, Taron Egerton has already had several roles that could serve as proof of concept for Hercules. In 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service and the 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Egerton played a youth who discovers his legendary heritage and trains with an older mentor (Colin Firth) to become a hero. Similarly, the 1997 Hercules portrays the mythological figure as a youth who discovers he is the son of Olympian gods, trains with an older mentor (Danny DeVito) and becomes a hero. The blueprint is already there, clearly.
Since then, Taron Egerton starred in a failed reboot of the Robin Hood legend (along with Jamie Foxx) and in the highly successful Elton John biopic Rocketman. In particular, the latter could be another selling point for Taron Egerton as Hercules; the actor showed off some decent singing chops that could pay off well for Disney. While the 1997 Hercules is notable for having fewer songs than many Disney movies of its time period, producer Joe Russo has already said the live-action remake will be more of a modern musical.
The Hercules remake is set to be directed by Guy Ritchie, who previously helmed the massively successful live-action Aladdin for Disney. It will also be produced by the Russo Brothers, who have a lot of previous experience working with Disney in its Marvel Studios arm.
