Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: Carlos Lopez Estrada, disney, robin hood

Disney Decides to Cancel Plans for a Live-Action Robin Hood Movie

Carlos López Estrada reveals that his live-action version of Robin Hood is no longer in development for Disney.

Published Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:47:07 -0500

Article Summary

Disney has canceled its planned live-action Robin Hood movie for Disney+, ending years of quiet development.
Director Carlos López Estrada confirmed the project's cancellation, citing unique music and ideas left behind.
This adaptation would have mixed live-action with CG animals, keeping the spirit of the 1973 animated classic.
Robin Hood's legacy continues as MGM+ renews its own drama series for a second season, filming in Serbia soon.

Disney's most recent attempt to bring Robin Hood back in live action was meant to be a modern take on the studio's 1973 animated classic, developed for Disney+ with Carlos López Estrada attached to direct. It was also positioned as a live-action and CG hybrid that would keep the story's anthropomorphic animals, rather than swapping them out for a fully human version, and it was being shaped with music as a key part of the package. However, that project has now effectively been put to rest, and the confirmation came straight from López Estrada himself during a recent Reddit AMA, where a fan asked what happened to the film.

An illustration featuring characters from Disney's animated 'Robin Hood,' including a bear dressed as Robin Hood, a rooster playing a lute, and various other animals in a festive setting, celebrating with treasures and colorful decorations. — © 1973 – Walt Disney Studios. All rights reserved.

Disney+ Robin Hood Director Says the Film is No Longer Moving Forward

The director replied to a fan's question, admitting, "It's dead, sadly. I say 'sadly' because I actually thought there was something really special (and original!) there. Some truly extraordinary music we had figured out for it. I keep daydreaming about doing it independently with different characters." The cancellation stings a bit more once you remember how long this version had been quietly sitting in the mix. The movie was first announced in 2020, with Kari Granlund writing and Justin Springer producing, and it stayed in that long development limbo where updates rarely arrive until a project either accelerates or vanishes. In this case, it is the latter, obviously, at least for Disney's current iteration. But given the Disney live-action track record, maybe it's for the best.

Even so, Robin Hood is not exactly going away. While Disney's film is no longer moving forward, the character is currently alive in a different corner of the industry thanks to MGM+'s Robin Hood series, which reimagines the legend as a romantic adventure drama set in 12th-century England. The show follows Rob, a Saxon forester's son, and Marian, the daughter of a Norman earl, as they push back against corruption from opposite sides of the social divide, with Marian infiltrating court politics while Rob leads an outlaw rebellion. Most importantly for momentum, MGM+ has renewed the series for Season 2, with another 10 episodes planned and production slated to begin this summer in Serbia.

That clearly doesn't replace the Disney movie that might have been, but it does keep the broader world of Robin Hood alive while fans are forced to wait a little longer for the chance to witness another live-action revamp of a classic.

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