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‘Free Willy’ Reimagining Set at Warner Bros., Russo Bros’ AGBO (Exclusive)
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
Warner Bros. and AGBO, the production company run by Anthony and Joe Russo, are teaming up on a reimagining of the 1993 family adventure film Free Willy. Screenwriters Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett have been hired to write the script, bringing the story of a troubled boy who bonds with a captive orca to a new generation. The move revives one of the 1990s' most recognisable family franchises, which spanned several theatrical and home-video releases.
AGBO's Angela Russo-Otstot, Michael Disco and Kassee Whiting will produce, with the Russo brothers executive producing, while Lauren Shuler Donner and Courtney Baker co-produce; Jesse Ehrman and Cate Adams are overseeing for Warner Bros. Kunze began her career as a creative executive at Marvel Television on shows including Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil, and recently co-executive produced Netflix's The Boroughs, while Bartlett made her feature debut writing Lionsgate's Miller's Girl and created the forthcoming Netflix series Icebreaker. The project joins a busy AGBO slate that includes a Noah Centineo-led John Rambo film, the Robert De Niro thriller The Whisper Man, Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday and a third Extraction instalment.
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In short
- Warner Bros. and the Russos' AGBO are rebooting Free Willy.
- Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett will write the script.
- It joins AGBO's slate alongside Rambo and Avengers: Doomsday.
How this story developed
- 4 months ago The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Warner Bros. and AGBO, the production company run by Anthony and Joe Russo, are partnering on a reimagining of the 1993 family adventure film Free Willy, with Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett writing the screenplay.
- 4 months ago Warner Bros. and AGBO, the production company run by Anthony and Joe Russo, are teaming up on a reimagining of the 1993 family adventure film Free Willy, with Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett writing the screenplay.
- 4 months ago Warner Bros. and AGBO, the production company run by Anthony and Joe Russo, are teaming up on a reimagining of the 1993 family adventure film Free Willy.
Explained simply
Warner Bros. and AGBO, the production company founded by directors Anthony and Joe Russo (known for Marvel's Avengers films and Netflix's Extraction), are developing a new take on Free Willy, the 1993 hit about a boy who befriends a captive orca. The original spawned several sequels and became one of the defining family films of the 1990s, so a reimagining marks the revival of a well-known franchise for a new audience.
Writers Mary-Margaret Kunze and Jade Halley Bartlett have been brought on to script the project. Kunze has a background at Marvel Television and has worked on Netflix's The Boroughs, while Bartlett wrote Lionsgate's Miller's Girl and created the upcoming Netflix series Icebreaker; neither is a household name, but both have established credits in film and television writing.
The project sits within a much larger slate of films AGBO currently has in development, including a new John Rambo film, a De Niro-led thriller, Avengers: Doomsday and a third Extraction film, showing the scale of the Russo brothers' production ambitions beyond directing.
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